Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.
This was a gifted meal.
I do like a day out in Windsor. It’s such a compact city with Windsor Castle sitting right in the middle, beautiful parks and meadows for walking in and Eton perched on the end. We timed it just right on our last visit to see the changing of the guards; it was about as British as it gets and it was lovely to see. Lunch was planned at The Junction which opened earlier this year; I’d checked out the menu before we arrived and was looking forward to eating a bit of autumn.
I live in a village and on first appearances it has all the qualities of somewhere straight out of Call The Midwife. Actually living there is quite different; people don’t know each others names, good luck trying to get them to take your bins in for you and there’s so much material competition it’s like a car forecourt out there. Of course there are exceptions; one of which is the white house on the corner. They have a Bramley apple tree and although (this year especially) they don’t get many apples from it they always put a box of windfalls outside their gate for people to take. I helped myself to one of their apples and set about making some Bramley apple and nut flapjacks.
There’s always a pack of lentils in my kitchen cupboards. Sometimes more than one; the quick cooking red variety to throw into soups, the big fat yellow ones for making dahl and the more elegant puy for making a wholesome side dish or salad. The mealy, earthy taste and texture that comes from a lentil is part of its charm; the fact that they are so humble but so versatile and filling is why I always find myself with lentils on my plate at least once a week. This dish of lentils and chard was served alongside some simply griddled chicken but it was so good that I think it’s perfect as a meal on its own.
You might have noticed that autumn has arrived. We’re still lucky to be enjoying sunny days and there are still green leaves on the trees but as things get cosier, the food I eat changes. Here a some of the things I’ve been trying which I think make the move into autumn tastier: my new products for autumn.
I’ve had a few things with matcha tea, mostly desserts, but I hadn’t had the actual tea itself many times. I took on the TeaPigs Matcha Tea Challenge to have a cup every day for a month. I have to admit that I didn’t manage every day but I certainly did most. I like how fresh the tea tastes and it’s so green that you feel healthy just sipping it. I also like that a waft of green smoke seems to rise from the pot each time it’s opened. I enjoyed the tea prepared in hot water and also tried a sprinkling on my porridge and yoghurt with some dried fruit. For a small pot it lasts an awfully long time.
Sometimes I make something for the first time and I wonder why it’s taken me so long to get round to it. Iced tea is one of my favourite drinks, especially lemon iced tea, but other than a passion fruit and jasmine version I concocted a few years ago I’ve not made my own since. I wanted to make some to take on a recent picnic as I thought it would be nice and refreshing in the late summer sun. Considering this only uses three ingredients, I used the very best ones I could: all organic and the tea I used had the wonderfully, British, charming name ‘Georgian Old Gentleman’.
I thought I knew my local area pretty well, thought I’d trodden all its paths and roads and could take you to all the best places. Turns out I was wrong as a spontaneous left turn took me to all sorts of corners of Hampshire that I didn’t even know were there. We were planning on doing a bit of local exploring but hadn’t set our expectations too high as we were so convinced we’d already seen it all; we were amazed at all the new places we went and what we saw. I thoroughly advise you should all undertake an adventure right on your doorstep.
Sometimes the vegetables that arrive in my veg box are so stunning that it (almost) seems a shame to eat them. We all know that a romanesco cauliflower is mathematically wonderful and who can say no to a green lemon when it’s yellow inside and full of juice. A bunch of purple spring onions turned up on my doorstep and I knew simplicity would be the way to make the most of them; bold flavours from few ingredients. Chorizo Hash with Purple Spring Onions was certainly the way to go.
You will need (for two):
First impressions are terribly important, but then so is not judging a book by its cover. This may look, on first glance, like a bowl of indistinct yellow mush but trust me, don’t judge this bowl of incredible-ness by its ‘rustic’ appearance. When I have a bowl of dahl it has to be three things: comforting, frugal and full of garlic. My Yellow Split Pea Dahl, which I have been trying and testing for some time now, fulfils all of my dahl needs and wants. Absolutely dahl-icious.
I like to think I’m fairly well behaved. The majority of what I eat I make myself and is somewhat healthy and well balanced. I find a place for the indulgent dishes (macaroni cheese, dauphinoise and the like) amongst the day to day soups, salads, vegetables and wholegrains. I’m by no means a saint and I think a little indulgence never hurt anyone. When I plan to make something that’s maybe a little bit ‘naughty’ I make sure I go all out. These Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake Brownies are no exception; prepare to enjoy.
You will need (for 9 brownies):
Grease an eight inch shallow, square cake tin. Preheat your oven to 180C.
Gently beat the cream cheese with the vanilla extract and two tbsp of the caster sugar. Mix until smooth.
Put the butter, remaining sugars, dark chocolate and golden syrup into a small saucepan and heat gently until everything is combined and smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl then whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture along with the fudge pieces.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the chocolate and egg mix then fold everything together.
Pour the brownie mix into the prepared tin then dollop the cream cheese mixture over the top. Use a spoon or skewer to marble the cream cheese through the brownie mix.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until it’s just coming away from the edge of the tin but is still slightly gooey.
These chocolate fudge cheesecake brownies make you pull the face that only a full fat, full sugar, no compromise baked good can; somewhere between falling asleep, pure satisfaction and absolute delight. The fudge pieces are slightly caramelised and chewy when the brownies are warm, the cheesecake part adds a slight tang and freshness and it’s all surrounded by gooey, spongey chocolate. You need to use a few different bowls for making these so there’s a little more washing up than some of my usual recipes but trust me, it’s worth it. Just think how many extra calories you’ll burn doing the washing up, just in time for when these are ready to come out of the oven.
I tried something similar to these Mexican black beans at a restaurant a few weeks ago. They were so tasty and I loved the frugality of them that I really wanted to try and make them at home. Attempt one tasted fine but the texture was all wrong, attempt two was an improvement but the spicing wasn’t quite right. By the third attempt I’d got it; tasty, slightly spicy, cheap and easy to make. Does it get much better?
You will need (for 2):
Total for two: £2.05
Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and add the garlic. Fry for a minute or so and don’t let the garlic catch. Add the chilli and spices and keep everything moving.
Add the beans, stock, a little salt and pepper then pop a lid on and leave to simmer lightly for 15 minutes.
Take the lid off and continue to cook for another five minutes; lightly mash most of the beans with the back of the spoon until it’s like a very thick soup.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly and thicken up a little more, stir through the fresh coriander and serve.
I had this on the side with my enchiladas recently but the previous versions were served with rice or quinoa (both good choices) and a fresh tomato salad. I left the chilli out of the first batch I made and it still tastes great but adding it does give that lovely fresh chilli flavour to the beans and along with the spices, garlic and coriander this is a very tasty bowl of stuff. And I bet you’ve got most of the ingredients in your cupboards already. I would be tempted to thicken these beans up further, spread them over a wrap, top with some leftover shredded chicken and fresh tomato salsa, roll and enjoy.