Happy New Year! I was lucky to have a pretty decent 2021, and I know I am in the minority here. It was a shocker for many of my favourite people. Wherever January 2022 finds you (ideally somewhere relaxing and on holiday with many tasty …
My parents are amazing gardeners and I couldn’t resist this little scallopini left over from their crop. Mainly because, what a cute vegetable, everyone! How could you not want to take it home? Little and frilly and kind of like a flying saucer. I’ve eaten …
Butternut is such a sweet little name that, even if I didn’t much fancy the taste, I would still have to create a recipe or two in its honour. So, luckily I find it delicious as well as cutely named. Butternut is lighter, softer and sweeter than other pumpkin and squash varieties with a gentle thin skin that doesn’t require peeling. Pumpkins, squashes and gourds are all part of the same family, cucurbitaceae, and what an impressive family they are. They’ve fed us since around 3500BC and we enjoy every bit of them – there are recipes for their leaves, seeds, flowers, as well as their flesh. They provide excuses for carnivals and competitive gardening; gourds have assisted us both practically as storage containers and water-carriers and as decoration, and let us not forget the many pumpkins sacrificed every year for Halloween. Curcubitales are indigenous to the American continent, so combining pumpkin with tahini is mixing up cuisines somewhat, however given the hardy pumpkin is now grown in all continents bar Antartica, I feel this is is justified. That, and the fact that they pair together very nicely.
Ingredients:
Method
Set the oven to 210 degrees celsius.
Slice the entire butternut in half width-ways, then slice each piece in half long-ways. Scrape out the seeds. Slice each piece width-ways to create crescent-shaped pieces of butternut (pictured). Drizzle with olive oil and place in oven for 45 minutes. Check to ensure they are not sticking one or two times.
Make the tahini dressing by placing tahini, lemon juice, honey and flaky sea-salt in a jar and shake to combine. You may need to add warm water depending on the thickness of the tahini – I recommend starting with one T of warm water and adding gradually until you have a dressing the consistency of runny yoghurt.
When the butternut pieces are cooked through and browned, place on plate or serving platter. Drizzle the tahini dressing over the butternut pieces. Scatter over the parsley and toasted pumpkin seeds and serve.
It was a pretty crappy Summer season in my garden overall, with the grand total of 12 manky-looking tomatoes and two cucumbers (there were three cucumbers, but something ate one of them). The outlier here has been my herb collection. These little guys have gone …
For the second recipe in my ground-breaking series on the humble carrot I bring you…honey and balsamic roasted carrots. This recipe is especially useful if you have a number of the little orange critters languishing in your vegetable drawer and they’re getting on the soft …
Happy New Year! Munching on carrot sticks, brimming with enthusiasm for a year of healthful habits? Nope, me neither. And I need to tell you right now that if that’s what you’re after, you’re probably reading the wrong blog. But, I am enjoying some carrot recipes these days and I would like to share them with you.
I’ve not always been the biggest fan of carrots (hence the ‘meh carrots part 1’ of the title). I was distinctly neutral about them as a child. When included as a member of the traditional meat-and-three-veg line-up, carrots always felt pretty bland – just peeled, chopped and boiled, and plonked alongside the potatoes. I would usually try to cover them with some tomato sauce or mash them into my potato to make them go down a little easier.
I’m pleased to report I have since realised the error of my ways. Over the past couple of years I have developed a number of ways to spruce up the old carrot into something quite tasty. And well I should – carrots are sweet, colourful and cheap, and brimming with all kinds of goodness including beta carotene, potassium and Vitamin K1. They’re also pretty fascinating – would you believe they have only been orange since the 16th century? So says this post, which also provides advice that selection of one’s carrots should include the criteria that the carrots are firm and well-formed, snarf.
Today’s carrot recipe does require you to grate them but I promise it’s worth it. This carrot salad is very versatile. It’s a welcome addition to a BBQ as the freshness of the carrots and cider vinegar cuts through richer flavours nicely. Equally it makes a meat-free meal for one in its own right, especially if you add a little more protein and a crusty bread roll. I hope you give it a chance!
Serves 4 as a side
Ingredients:
3 x large carrots, peeled
2 T apple cider vinegar
3 T mild oil (I like rapeseed)
1 t brown sugar
1 t dry mustard powder
1 t wholegrain mustard
3 T toasted walnuts, chopped
Method:
Prepare your carrots first – grate them (coarsely is fine if you hate grating carrots as much as I do) and roll gently in a clean towel to remove excess moisture. Don’t overdo this as you still want a bit of the juiciness. No wringing!
Combine the vinegar, oil, sugar and mustard powder by whisking until blended in a small bowl or shaking all ingredients in a jar.
Place the carrots in a serving bowl, sprinkle over the walnuts and pour in the dressing. Toss the salad and serve immediately.
I invented these bad guys because I really dislike making traditional pancakes. Delicate thin batter getting stuck to the pan, wedging itself into odd shapes, lumps, burnt bits. The whole experience makes me hot, sweaty and angry. Especially as I am usually over-caffeinated, flapping around …
Hey friends, how are you all hanging in there? Okay I do hope. We are trucking along well Ngaio. The cats remain delighted with having their humans on tap. The husband remains delighted with our hard-working craft beer industry and its willingness to home-deliver. And …
Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, fruit can go a little south in the fruit bowl. Things in general feel like they have gone a little south lately. This time a year ago our current COVID circumstances would have been unimaginable to pretty much all of us, bar epidemiologists and fans of apocalyptic fiction (like my husband).
I think we could all do with a little comfort baking at the moment. The apple pictured above is in these days and times cause for joy. It provides an excuse – no, it necessitates even – sweet, carb-y treats and ample butter. Of course my reaction to past-it apples is usually stewed apple for healthy porridge, but in the middle of a pandemic? Baking is the only solution.
Along with the comfort baking, I’m feeling very lucky in our little bubble. My rescue cats are in heaven, as depicted. And I’m feeling doubly lucky after the outpouring of love in response to my last post. I wish a heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. You are all a part of my support bubble, which is particularly important when our COVID-restricted physical bubbles are much smaller.
I hope you have an apple or two languishing in your fruit bowl for these scones. Enjoy and take care.
Spiced apple scones – makes 12
Ingredients::
3 cups of plain flour
6 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
3 apples, peeled and grated
5 tablespoons of butter
3/4 cup of milk plus a little extra for brushing
Method
Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a large bowl. Add the grated apple and stir to combine. Rub in the butter with your hands until the mixture looks crumbly.
Make a well in the centre and add the milk. Stir to combine and gather the dough together with your hands, kneading a few times until all is combined. Add a little more milk if the mixture seems dry – it can depend on the juiciness of the apples.
Sprinkle flour on a baking tray. Tip the mixture onto the tray and divide into 12 rectangular portions. Brush the tops with the extra milk.
Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden brown.
Last year’s multiple hospital trips were more significant than I realised last time I wrote. It turns out that, in the long-running battle between me and infertility, infertility was winning. Well ahead, in fact. In hospital, the charge nurse stroked my needle-studded hand protectively. You …