Poached Eggs with Sautéed Chilli Spinach

Now I am a big fan of a bacon sandwich on a weekend morning, but on this occasion I urge you to do your body a post-Christmas favour and treat it to some spinach instead! It's (almost) as satisfying and will leave you feeling full of energy instead of needing to go back to bed. Although you can still do that. Or eat it in bed. That sounds good too.

While your eggs are poaching, simply heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, then add a few handfuls of spinach. Season with salt and pepper and some dried chilli flakes, and drizzle with some good olive oil. Keep tossing the spinach in the pan. It will only take 3-4 minutes for the spinach to wilt down and be ready.

Pile onto hot buttered wholemeal toast, top with two poached eggs, and a drizzle more olive oil. Dig in and feel a little bit virtuous.

(Oh and don't forget to take an oozy-yolk-food-porn shot!)

Cheddar and Chilli Bagel

Today was the Wonderboy's first day at school. Well, afternoon. It's safe to say I was definitely more nervous than he was! After dropping him off I came home, cried, made myself this immense bagel, then felt much better. Meanwhile he was having the time of his life running around and making friends, unaware of how pivotal this day in his life was and how hard I found it to loosen the apron strings. He can't wait to go back tomorrow! Phew.

Al Fresco is the Besto

Simple Pleasures #3

Just an awesome sandwich I made today. Pesto, mozzarella, tomato, watercress. Organic wholemeal. Very nice.

Chorizo, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Hash

Here's what I rustled up tonight. I suggest you do the same when you need a quick dinner, and some chorizo in the fridge that you haven't quite decided what to do with (that happens to me a lot..)

Really this would probably serve two, with perhaps some nice crusty bread on the side, but it's Monday and I decided instead to eat the whole lot, in front of a movie, with all the lights off. Does that sound weird? It sounded weird when I read it back. Secret chorizo bingeing in the dark..

Anyway, should you want to emulate this behaviour here's what you need to do:

Cut 1 small sweet potato into cubes. Boil on the hob for 8 minutes until softened. Meanwhile roughly chop half an onion (red would be nice if you have it) and 1 garlic clove. Remove the papery skin from some chorizo sausage (about a finger's length) and 'crumble' the meat in your fingers, so that you have some nice scruffy chunks of chorizo.
Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan, and fry the onion and chorizo for about 5 minutes. Add a grinding of dried chilli flakes.
Drain the sweet potato, and add it to the frying pan, along with 1/2 tin drained tinned chickpeas and a small handful of curly kale. Chard or spinach would also work well.

Mix it all together, then leave to cook for 5 minutes so it starts to go nice and crispy.
Pre-heat the grill.
Crack a couple of eggs on top of the mixture, then pop under the grill for a few minutes until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.

Dig in. Or share it. Whatever.

Beetroot and Apple Soup

I am almost as proud of myself for making this soup as I am of making an actual human being. Well, not really, but it is quite beautiful don't you think?

I'm trying to buy more fruit and veg from my local Greengrocer's. It's a great little place, where the veg is grown on an allotment just a couple of miles away, so everything is super fresh. Though, this does mean you have to get a bit creative.
The thing I love about beetroot is that at first glance they're so humble, grubby and unassuming. But once you cut them open, they have the most wonderful jewel-like colour.


If this floats your boat, I used this recipe from The Times online. I adapted it slightly by omitting the garlic and instead adding 1/2 tsp ground ginger whilst cooking the onions. This worked really well.

Also it's great served hot or cold-even better cold I think, especially at this time of year, but it has to be chilled not just room temoperature!

Grating the beetroot reduces the required cooking time, but-geez!-it was a laborious process so next time I think I would just chop it. It all gets blended together at the end, so this won't make too much difference.

This is a great health soup. The vibrancy of the beetroot tells you that it's packed full of anti-oxidants, and they are also a great source of Vitamins A and C, fibre and potassium. They are also known for they're significance in maintaining low blood pressure and cholesterol.

Do I need to give you any more reasons to try this soup!!

Smoked Mackerel with Couscous Salad

Never underestimate the sophistication of a child's palate. Now obviously most kids would be happy to live on a diet of cheese, bread and potato, but trying new things can also be a fun and exciting adventure. Anyway, I learnt a lesson in this when I discovered that, at about the age of 18 months, Toby loved smoked fish. As in, he will peel the skin off and eat it whilst licking his lips. Can't get enough of it. So it taught me to always offer him new things to try, even if he has turned it down in the past, and never think that something is "too grown up for him".
So here's a lovely fresh, summery, smoked mackerel dish that's great for lunch or dinner. Simply warm the mackerel fillets under the grill, whilst preparing a simple couscous salad:

Cook the couscous according to packet instructions-it literally takes 5 minutes so is super speedy. You'll need approximately 50g per person. Leave to cool, then add some chopped fresh parsley, the juice from half a lemon, some salt and pepper, and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil.
I added salad leaves to mine, along with some cucumber and tomatoes. For Toby, I omitted the salad leaves (he still can't get his head around salad..) and served the cucumber and tomato alongside. This was actually the first time I got him to eat raw tomato, so in my sad little way it's been a productive day already!

Goats Cheese and Mushroom Omelette

If you like a lot of dairy in your breakfast, you'll like this one. If that's too much too handle in the morning, it would also make a great lunch. In fact, when is there not a good time for an omelette?
Firstly, clean and slice a good hanful of chestnut mushrooms. Now cook in a non-stick frying pan (you shouldn't need any oil) until softened-this will take about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and put to one side. Wipe the pan clean.
Whisk 3 organic free range eggs in a bowl, and add a splash of milk and some salt and pepper. Melt a knob of butter in the pan, add the eggs, and whisk the surface to help create a light fluffy texture.

Add the mushrooms back to one half of the omelette. Grate over some hard goats cheese. Of course you can use whatever cheese you fancy but, frankly, I'll use any excuse for a bit of goats cheese...

After about 5 minutes, and when the underneath has turned a lovely golden brown, fold the non-mushroomy half over the mushroomy half.

(I'm sure there was a more articulate way of describing that, but please don't judge me!)

The inside of the omelette should cook in the heat, but if it looks too runny, pop a plate loosely over the pan and this will help seal in the heat to cook it through.

Now serve with an extra sprinkling of cheese, if you feel in the need for cheese....

Tomato, Chilli and Butterbean Soup with Parmesan Croutons

Here's my own soup recipe that I love. The butterbeans add great texture and bite, and it has only a hint of chilli so is suitable for kids. This recipe will make 2 adult portions or 1 adult and 2 children's portions.

1. First, finely chop 1 small onion and 1 clove of garlic. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan, and gently soften the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.
2. Add 1 tsp of freshly ground dried chilli (you can use fresh if you prefer), and cook for another minute, being careful not to let the chilli burn.
3. Pour in 1 tin of good quality chopped tomatoes. Re-fill 3/4 of the tin with water, and add this to the pan.
4. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, add half a tin of drained butterbeans. You can use the dried ones of you prefer, but they need to be soaked overnight then boiled for at least an hour, and frankly, who can be bothered with that?!

6. Now leave the soup to cool a little, then whizz (that's a technical term there) with a hand-held blender until smooth. Pureeing these butterbeans will thicken the soup, much as you would use potato or flour in some other soups.
7. You can then stir in the remaining half of the tinned butterbeans, leaving them whole.
Or you can get your trusty helper to do this....

Now, how about some homemade croutons? I actually first knocked these up when I only had stale bread to have with my lunch..they do say necessity is the mother of invention, and that's certainly true in the kitchen.

I used wholemeal bread for these, but white bread would work just as well, if not better.
Cut your bread into cubes. Heat a generous 2tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Get it pretty hot. Add the bread cubes, and toss them in the oil. They'll take about 6-7 minutes until they turn golden brown. Halfway through, sprinkle over a liberal amount of grated parmesan, and keep tossing.

Serve the soup with the croutons alongside for people to help themselves, and some extra Parmesan for sprinkling if you're feeling in the need for cheese.

Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms on Toast

Last night's dinner was somewhat rustic, based on my new ethos of simple, fresh, healthy food. Think Nigel Slater (with his quick, mostly veggie based meals) rather than Nigella (full fat cream, anyone?)
So I cleaned and chopped half a punnet of organic chestnut mushrooms. Then I heated a small knob of butter and 1tsp olive oil in a frying pan. Added 1 chopped garlic clove, then the mushrooms and about 1tsp chopped fresh thyme. Saute it all together for about 8 minutes, stir in 1tbsp creme fraiche, and serve on wholemeal toast.
This would also make a great brunch dish!

So after a nice light meal, I tried not to think about all the sumptous treats I had witnessed the other evening on Lorraine Pascale's new show Baking Made Easy. It really did make me want to go over to the dark side and get out my baking pinny.

In particular are the ammaaaazing looking Oreo fudge brownies...

If you'd like to give into temptation, then you can find the recipe here on the BBC website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cookies_and_cream_fudge_48648

Prawn Jacket Potato!

Here's a simple one, but a goody nonetheless. I was inspired to rustle this up after seeing it on my friend Rene's blog http://www.renehumphrey.blogspot.com/

Basically pop a jacket potato in the oven (after pricking all over, and smearing with olive oil and sea salt) for 1-1/2 hours.

Meanwhile put a 150g packet of cooked, peeled king prawns into a bowl. Add two generous tablespoons of creme fraiche, the juice of half a lemon, just under a handful of chopped dill, and season. Mix it all together then pop back in the fridge.

Serve with the potato and some salad. This amount of prawns will serve two, but I kept half and had the rest on a toasted bagel for lunch today. Delish!

Tomatoes on toast

Really simple but yummy lunch today. Put some vine tomatoes on a roasting tray,drizzled with olive oil and balsamic, seasoned with salt and pepper. Roasted in the oven for half an hour and served on some toasted Hobbs House Bakery 'Sherston' loaf, which makes the best toast.

Sorry,for some annoying reason it won't display this picture landscape,even though it was taken as landscape!