All That I'm Eating

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

Salmon Nicoise Quiche

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This quiche is full of vegetables and that is a great way to disguise the fact it’s actually got double carbs in. Potatoes AND pastry; who doesn’t love that? My salmon nicoise quiche is a great way to take leftovers to another level. I made the nicoise salad, so everything was prepped and cooked, and then assembled the quiche the next day. Served alongside some mustard flecked dressed lettuce, this is a perfect lunch for me.

Delicious served warm from the oven you can slice this nicoise quiche into portions and freeze them individually, ready to be defrosted and warmed up another day. read more

Blackcurrant Frangipane Tart

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I can’t say no to blackcurrants; whatever they are in I will like it. They have such a distinctive flavour and when I found some at the market I had to set about making a blackcurrant frangipane tart. This tart is a marriage of two of my favourite things: blackcurrants and sweet almond frangipane.

The best thing about this tart comes from using raw blackcurrants. As they cook in the frangipane filling they burst and become sweet and sticky. The blackcurrants retain their sharp berry flavour but taint the tart with splashes of deep purple impromptu jam. With autumn just around the corner I can’t think of anything else I would rather spoon into my face. read more

Honey Cake

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There’s honey, and then there’s honey. I like all of it but my preference is for local honey. Delicious in so many recipes I wanted to make the honey the star of the dish; so I set about baking a honey cake.

At a market recently I tried some different honeys from a local producer. Not only were they different to each other, and commercial honeys, in colour and texture but the taste was out of this world. I chose the wildflower honey and remembered I had wanted to bake a honey cake for a while. The name ‘honey cake’ conjures up images of fine summer picnics in the garden, tall glasses of lemon barley water and sounds like you imagine it tastes. read more

Oat and Raisin Cookies

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Oat and Raisin Cookies close up

I had such a craving for some proper oat and raisin cookies. Ones which are crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle and about the same size as my face. I’ve tried several recipes in the past and they’ve tended to be not quite what I’m after in my perfect cookie. Until now. If you’re after a healthy cookie I wouldn’t read on any further.

ingredients

You will need (for 10 cookies):

  • 225g unsalted butter, softened
  • 200g light brown sugar
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 190g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 240g rolled oats
  • 140g raisins

Method

I made these in a food mixer but you can make them with an electric hand whisk, or by hand if you prefer. read more

Store Cupboard Shortbread

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Shortbread in tin

I often find that I buy nuts or seeds to make something particular and I get left with a few grams of them here and there. That’s where my store cupboard shortbread comes in. This year I am attempting to use up ingredients in my cupboards and I thought I would start by using the last few dregs of cocoa powder and some leftover hazelnuts; I am so glad I did.

Ingredients

Makes 12 pieces of shortbread:

  • 175g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g butter, softened
  • 50g chopped nuts, chocolate or seeds

Method

Grease a loose bottomed tart tin, mine was 20cm. Preheat an oven to 160C.

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl or food mixer and beat together until you get a ball of dough. read more

Mince Pie Crumble Bars

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Mince Pie Crumble Bars, out of the oven

In my perfect world, a mince pie would be 70% pastry, 30% mincemeat. It’s not that I don’t like mincemeat I just don’t like too much of it. That’s where my mince pie crumble bars come in. A thick layer of buttery shortbread, a spiced mincemeat middle and further crumbly shortbread on the top. Let’s be honest, it’s mostly biscuit with a hint of Christmas. Perfect.

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 mince pie crumble bars):

  • 300g softened butter
  • 100g sugar
  • 400g plain flour
  • 1 small jar mincemeat

Method

Grease and line a baking tray or dish. The one I used was approximately 20cm x 30cm. Preheat an oven to 170C. read more

Rainbow Carrot Tart with Summer Herbs and Goat’s Cheese

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I often get left with carrots at the bottom of the fridge. They play an overlooked, but important, base in so many meals: part of a mirepoix, in casseroles and in pies to name a few. Rarely, in my kitchen anyway, do the carrots get to be the star of the dish. So when some beautiful rainbow carrots arrived in the veg box it would have been rude to simply chuck them into various dinners. This time, I wanted to celebrate this lovely root in a rainbow carrot tart with summer herbs and goat’s cheese. A seasonal halfway tart if you will; one that is both full of summer flavours and the anticipation of autumn. read more

My Favourite Spring Recipes

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Tuscan Sausage Ragu

There are different shades of green in spring; the deep greens of kale and purple sprouting broccoli and the vibrant greens of asparagus and wild garlic. It is around this time each year that things seem to come alive, the evenings are getting longer and the days warmer. Trees are blossoming and everyone seems to awaken from a winter slumber to shake off those cobwebs (literally and figuratively). I start to cook lighter meals at this time of year but there’s always room for something more indulgent for those chilly evenings that catch you by surprise. With so many things about to come into season there’s much to look out for and these are my favourite spring recipes.

A few of my favourite hearty meals, which also lend themselves very well to a bit of batch cooking and freezing, are all pasta related! There’s my Tuscan Sausage Ragu which was inspired by a meal I had in Tuscany; you’ll need excellent sausages for this. My Layered Ragu and Aubergine Pasta Bake takes a bit of time to make but it is so worth it, the more aubergines the better as far as I’m concerned. For something a little lighter, and my favourite way to cook with chard, my Chard and Bacon Open Lasagne is much less effort than a normal lasagne. I do love a bit of spice and a tomato based curry is one of my top comfort foods; this Slow Cooked Lamb Curry is full of spices and fresh flavours.

A quick and easy weeknight dinner is always a bonus; it allows for extra time in the garden on those long evenings. A baked aubergine is one of my favourite things to eat; be it with pesto, jerk seasoning or my Miso Glazed Aubergine. The smoky flavour of chipotle chillies and the sweetness of the sweetcorn work so well together in my Chipotle Sweetcorn Hash. For a real hint of summer my Artichoke and Red Pepper Gratin is just asking to be enjoyed outside with a cold glass of wine and some warm crusty bread.

Having some delicious veggie meals stashed away in the freezer means I always have something I can serve with baked potatoes, rice or bread and my Smoky Cowboy Beans and my Lentil and Black Bean Chilli are two of my favourite recipes.

It wouldn’t be spring without Easter and a wonderful Easter Afternoon Tea is well worth a try; sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones, chocolate shortbread and rice krispie nests. For something a little different to the usual why not give my White Chocolate Easter Egg Nests a go?

There’s always room for some baking and these Spanish Fennel Biscuits are similar to something I tried in Madrid. Delicious with cream cheese and sherry! I like my cookies crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle and my Double Chocolate and Orange Cookies are exactly that!

A few other things to look out for at this time of year are Bergamot lemons and I’ve got plenty of Bergamot Recipes to try: as a salad dressing, in a cake and in a cocktail! If you’re lucky enough to find some wild garlic there’s plenty of cooking inspiration if you take a look at these Wild Garlic Recipes. And don’t forget about the Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Rhubarb! What will you be cooking up this spring?

Lemon and Coconut Flapjacks

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Lemon and Coconut Flapjacks

When I cut into a lemon I can’t help but give it a good sniff. It’s the same with lime and grapefruit. There’s something about that citrus smell that I just can’t wait to inhale; especially if it’s a drizzly day. I also love tropical flavours at this time of year: coconut, passion fruit, mango, you name it! Combining a bit of citrus and a bit of tropical was the idea here so I set about baking some lemon and coconut flapjacks.

ingredients

You will need (for 12 flapjacks):

  • 125g butter
  • 125g soft brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp golden syrup
  • 225g oats
  • 25g desiccated coconut
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • Juice 1 lemon
  • 4-6 tbsp icing sugar (I used unrefined)

method

Preheat an oven to 180C and grease a baking dish well, the one I used was 20cm x 20cm.

In a small saucepan melt together the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup on a low heat. Stir often to ensure everything gets well combined.

Stir the oats, coconut and lemon zest together in a large bowl.

Once the butter, sugar and syrup have melted pour them into the oats and mix everything together well to ensure that the butter mix has coated everything.

Tip the oats into the baking dish and flatten the top with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the flapjacks from the oven and mark into portions while they are still hot. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing and leaving to cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl. Sift in three tbsp icing sugar to start with and see how thick the icing gets. Keep adding more icing sugar until the icing becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Drizzle, splat or dunk the flapjacks in the icing to decorate.

Now when you come to ice the flapjacks don’t be alarmed that the icing dribbles down in between the oats. That tangy lemon hit will settle somewhere inside and be delicious when you come to eat it. By using unrefined icing sugar the icing will come out a pale brown/yellow colour but if you use refined icing sugar it will come out white. I really like using chunky whole oats for flapjacks as I think it gives a great texture and mixed with coconut the overall texture of these is slightly chewy at the edges and soft in the middle. Just how I like them.

Banana Bread with Chocolate, Oats and Honey

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banana bread with chocolate, oats and honey

You know those bananas that you keep avoiding in the fruit bowl? The ones which got a bit speckled a few days ago and now are fully fledged brown? Well, throw out your normal go-to recipe because my banana bread with chocolate, oats and honey is the way to go. Adding a few extra ingredients gives it a delicious flavour and texture and I have been very much enjoying having a slice for breakfast each morning. Any excuse to start the day with chocolate.

ingredients

You will need (for one banana bread loaf):

  • 125g butter
  • 3 medium overripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g honey
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 75g oats, plus a few extra
  • 100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

method

Grease and line a loaf tin and preheat the oven to 160C.

Melt the butter and honey together in a small saucepan and stir to ensure they are well combined.

Mash the bananas in a large bowl then pour in the butter and honey and crack in the eggs. Whisk everything together well.

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into the banana mix and fold everything in gently. Stir in the oats and most of the chocolate chunks.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin and then sprinkle the extra oats and leftover chocolate over the top.

Bake for an hour, then check on the loaf to see if a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle. If not, keep baking and checking it every 5-10 minutes until fully baked.

Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing and leaving to cool on a wire rack.

The oats on top of the banana bread have a lovely toasted flavour and the oats inside the bread swell up and have a deliciously chewy texture. Who can resist a slice of warm banana bread? It’s even harder to resist when you know it’s covered in and is full of melted chocolate. Dark chocolate is definitely the best choice for this as it works so well with the sweetness from the bananas, sugar and honey. The honey gives the cake a beautiful mellow flavour and slight sticky texture. If your banana bread lasts a few days and you want to freshen it up, try lightly grilling or microwaving it and serving with plain yoghurt. Honestly one of the best breakfasts imaginable.

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