I’ve got a confession to make. Although my evening meals are varied and I’m always trying something new my lunches always seem to get forgotten about. I just never remember to plan anything exciting for my lunch so I always end up with either a sandwich or a bowl of soup. So I was really looking forward to trying these meals from City Kitchen; something different every day for lunch and things that I would never normally prepare myself. The range of City Kitchen meals (available at Tesco) have been inspired by their chef’s travels; I really liked the sound of every meal I had to try.
Black Bean Quesadillas
I have made these black bean quesadillas a few times and I am always surprised how filling they are! They are deliciously full of black beans, spices and cheese and are really simple to make. You could add different beans, leftover chilli (or maybe leftover vegan chilli) and serve with your favourite dips. I love scooping up a big load of guacamole; but then I am a guacaholic. Sour cream, chilli sauce, salsa or whatever you like would be amazing on the side of these. One quesadilla each might not sound like a lot, but they are seriously filling.
Proper Ragu
There’s ragu, and then there’s proper ragu. You know the two kinds I mean; the quick one that we Brits chuck on top of a pile of spaghetti and the one that takes time, effort, care and attention to make. Don’t get me wrong, the former has its place but this recipe is for the latter; which incidentally freezes very well meaning it is perfect for cooking up a big batch and then reaping the rewards in the weeks to come. It has taken a long time to get this recipe to be my version of a perfect ragu so I hope you enjoy it.
Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies
I’m not sure these Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies need an introduction; just the name gets my mouth watering and a hankering for a piece with a coffee shortly follows. I’ll be honest from the outset, these are not exactly what you’d call healthy. They are full fat, properly indulgent, to-hell-with-it brownies. And frankly, when you’ve been working hard all day coming home to one of these and a cuppa is like a hug for the soul. A gooey, chocolatey, nutty…stop it…slice of comfort.
What I’ve been trying: August 2017
What with moving house and getting everything sorted I haven’t been trying as many new and interesting products as I would usually. Now things have settled down a bit I’ve found some time to be able to sample some tasty new things. There’s a real variety this time as always; yoghurt, savoury snacks, drinks and tea! Take a look at what I’ve been trying over the last few weeks.
Rachels Lemon and Gin Yogurt
Lemon, gin and yogurt sound like happy bedfellows if you ask me but I wasn’t too sure about starting the day with a serving of gin! It wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be which is good, there’s just a hint of something botanical throughout the yogurt. I thought the texture of this yogurt, being Greek style, was really nice; it was good and thick which meant it was easy to serve with fresh fruit instead of cream for an easy dessert. And as you can see I completely forgot to get a picture of it!
Beef and Chard Ramen
Cooking for one somehow seems more complicated than it should be. Even though it’s just a case of halving a recipe designed for two if I’m ever cooking for myself I often find myself opting for a slice of toast rather than anything more involved. But toast isn’t really that filling for dinner and no matter how much jam you spread on I’m not sure it’ll count as one of your five a day. That’s where this simple beef and chard ramen comes in. It is easy to scale up or down, you can use almost anything that you have in your kitchen and it doesn’t take much time to put together.
Sesame Chicken with Miso Dressing and Roasted Vegetables
Meals which are healthy, filling, full of colour and flavour and balanced are what I try to aim for with my cooking…most of the time. I always seem to come back to the same combination of chicken with some sort of grain; it’s always a winner and none more so with my latest recipe. This sesame sesame chicken with miso dressing is wholesome, flavourful and just the ticket for some quick weeknight cooking.
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- 2 small chicken breasts
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
- Oil for cooking
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 150g brown rice
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- Juice 1 lime
- 125ml plain yoghurt
Method
Start by adding the onion and carrots to a roasting tray, drizzle over a little oil along with some salt and pepper and mix everything together well. Pop into the oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until soft and starting to brown at the edges.
Dark Chocolate Orange and Pistachio Biscuits
I do love the expression ‘fart-arsing around’. When it came to making and decorating these dark chocolate orange and pistachio biscuits I wasn’t going to be fart-arsing around with any of it. An all in one biscuit dough means it’s easy to mix and haphazard throwing around of melted chocolate makes the decoration a breeze. No dunking of biscuits in chocolate for the perfect edge, no placing of individual caramelised pistachios with tweezers and you know what? I think they taste all the better for it.
An Instagram Masterclass
An Instagram Masterclass sounded like something I would definitely be interested in attending, I never thought I would be the person giving the masterclass! The Oracle in Reading are currently in the midst of their food festival and I was asked if I would give an Instagram Masterclass as part of the festival. I’ve been using Instagram for years and have changed the way I use it; with updates, style of photos, filters and editing and when I started thinking about what to say I realised I had a few handy hints and tips to pass on to my fellow diners, and now to you.
Ironbridge to Blaenavon to Cheddar: A Road Trip
I planned a brilliant road trip; it was all mapped out, places of note to stop at if there was time, places to stay and eat all sorted. There was going to be plenty to see and do and then after a series of unfortunate, last minute events, the plan went out of the window entirely and a new road trip was drawn up rather hurriedly, while on the road! But you know what, managing to see two UNESCO sites in two days and then tick somewhere else off my bucket list makes for a pretty good road trip; even if the routes seem a little erratic. Our Ironbridge to Blaenavon to Cheddar trip was slightly spontaneous and all the better for it.
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