Sunday, 2 October 2011

Eat: French potato salad with warm chickpea and artichoke salad

It's October but the sun is still shining so here are a couple of salads we're eating this weekend. The potato salad is from Martha Stewart and the warm chickpea and artichoke salad is from the taste space

French potato salad


Prep time: 30 mins

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, halved (quartered if large)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 small shallot, minced (2 tablespoons)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 small red onion, sliced

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot; cover with cold water by 1 inch and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, approx 15 minutes. Run under cold water to cool slightly , then drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together oil, mustard, vinegar, shallot, parsley, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Add potatoes and onion and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Cook's Note

If you don't have sherry vinegar, try cider or champagne vinegar instead. Use your favourite fresh herbs in this potato salad to make it your own.

Warm chickpea and artichoke salad


Serves 2-3 as a main dish

Ingredients

5 Tbsp (75 ml) extra virgin olive oil, divided (or less)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp (10 ml) dried basil, or use 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) fresh, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) dried oregano
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh parsley, chopped (omitted)
2 cloves garlic, pureed with fine sea salt
1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) fine sea salt, or more, to taste
2 cups (480 ml) cooked chickpeas, well drained (or a 19-oz can of chickpeas, rinsed well before using)
5 artichoke hearts (I used a 14-oz can), drained and sliced lengthwise with 3/4 cm slices
1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Directions

1. In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together 3 tbsp (45 ml) of the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, oregano, parsley (if using), garlic and sea salt. Set aside.

2. In a large frypan, toast almonds until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.

3. In the same large frypan, heat 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil. Add the chickpeas and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until they are all golden brown (this takes about 10 minutes). Add to the bowl.

4. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil in the pan and add the artichoke hearts, cut side down. Cook until they are browned, flipping over only once or twice to avoid breaking them up, about 3-5 minutes each side. Add them to the bowl as well.

5. Toss the salad gently until the chickpeas and artichoke hearts are well coated with the dressing. To serve, spoon the salad onto serving plates and sprinkle with some of the chopped almonds (add any leftover almonds to the bowl and toss again). Serve warm.

Sunday, 18 September 2011

Eat: Iced Honey Mascarpone and Almond Cake with Fig Salad

With figs being in season I thought it worth sharing this gorgeous cake recipe from Gourmet Recipes


You’ll need to start this recipe at least a day ahead.

Ingredients

12 figs, quartered
125 gm raspberries (optional)
1 tbsp amaretto
To serve: honey

Almond dacquoise
200 gm unblanched almonds
6 egg whites
110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar
60 gm icing sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
50 gm plain flour

Honey mascarpone

3 egg yolks
110 gm honey, or 50 gm honey and 60 gm brown sugar
750 gm mascarpone, or 400 gm mascarpone and 500 ml whipped cream
60 ml (¼ cup) amaretto

1. For dacquoise, preheat oven to 150C. Process almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Whisk eggwhites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, add caster sugar and whisk until thick and glossy. Fold in icing sugar, then almonds and flour and spoon into a piping bag. Trace three 18cm circles onto baking paper-lined oven trays. Pipe dacquoise within template into circles, bake for 15 minutes or until just golden, cool on trays for 5 minutes, then turn onto baking paper sprinkled with icing sugar and cool completely.

2. For mascarpone, combine egg yolks and honey in a heat-proof bowl and whisk over simmering water for 7-8 minutes or until pale and thick. Transfer to an electric mixer and whisk until cold. In a bowl, gently mix amaretto and mascarpone, then fold in egg yolk mixture.

3. To assemble, place a dacquoise circle, trimming edges to fit, into a baking paper-lined 20cm springform pan, spread with one third of mascarpone all the way to the edges and down the sides, then top with another circle. Repeat with remaining mascarpone and dacquoise, finishing with a layer of mascarpone and freeze overnight.

4. Fifteen minutes before serving, remove cake from freezer and place in refrigerator. Combine figs and raspberries in a bowl, drizzle with amaretto and stand for 10 minutes. To serve, remove cake from pan, arrange fig salad on top and drizzle with honey.

Saturday, 17 September 2011

Eat: Beetroot pesto

Supper tonight was this recipe found on Design Sponge. I roasted the beetroot for the sweeter flavour.


Serves 4
  • 1 pound beets, cooked and peeled
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 ounces almonds
  • 2 ounces grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
  • sea salt
  • 1/4 cup plus a tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Note: If you prefer a sweeter taste, scrub and trim the tops from the beets and roast them in a foil-covered pan at 400ºF/200ºC until fork tender, about 1 hour.

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the beets and run them in a food processor or blender with the garlic, almonds, grated parmesan and sea salt.

2. With the blender running, gradually add the olive oil. Keep and serve refrigerated.

3. Use beetroot pesto exactly as you would use traditional pesto: over roasted vegetables, with pasta, in risotto, or even better, serve with home-baked rye bread.

Eat: Veggie Tacos

Todays lunch came from Simply Recipes.  We used feta and medium hot chillies to taste. They also have a recipe for homemade corn tortillas if you have the time.


Packaged corn tortillas vary in quality. Look for a thick tortilla, it will hold up better in the cooking. Otherwise, if your tortillas are more fragile, you may need to double them up - 2 per taco.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 cup of roughly chopped zucchini or summer squash (1-2 zucchini or squash, depending on the size)
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 large fresh mild green chile (Anaheim or Hatch), seeds and stem discarded, chopped
  • 1/2 fresh jalapeño chile pepper, seeds and stem discarded, minced (or more, if you like more heat)
  • Salt
  • Pinch of ground cumin
  • Pinch of ground oregano
  • 1 small to medium tomato, chopped
  • 4 corn tortillas
  • 4 slices cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Mexican cotija cheese (a salty, crumbly cheese, you can substitute feta)
  • A few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped (okay to include the stems, if small)

Method

1 Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the zucchini, onions, garlic, green chiles, and jalapeño to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and cumin. Stir to coat the vegetables with the oil in the pan. Spread the veggies out in the pan and then stir only occasionally, until they are all lightly browned. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and oregano, lower the heat to low. Let gently cook for several minutes while you are preparing the tortillas.

2 You are going to want to heat up the tortillas first, first to soften them, and then to melt the cheese. There are two basic ways of doing this. One way is on the stove top, preferably in a cast iron pan. Another way is to use the microwave. In both methods you will work in batches.

3 Open the tacos and spoon some of the cooked veggie filling into them. Sprinkle on chopped cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese. Serve immediately.

Interiors: A place for everything




 via Flickr

Sunday, 11 September 2011

Eat: Alkaline Green Smoothie

For lunch today my housemate made this recipe from The Alkaline Sisters. She couldn't find any kale so used cavelo nero instead.



Makes approx 12 - 16oz

6″ piece of cucumber
3 medium Kale leaves, torn
5 stems fresh mint
3 stems fresh parsley
1″ piece fresh ginger
1 avocado
1 cup coconut water
fresh juice of one lime
1-2 tsp udo’s oil
1-2 tbsp hemp seeds
2-3 drops stevia or a tsp of agave

Method

Place all ingredients into high speed blender and mix until smooth, adding a little filtered water if needed for consistency.

Optionally,  add 1/2 cup frozen berries – blueberries, raspberries or strawberries as they are low sugar fruit.

Follow the link and you will find other suggestions for the smoothie.

Saturday, 10 September 2011

Eat: Delia's Trofie pasta liguria

Today's recipe is from Delia Smith for Waitrose. I did make one change to the recipe as I like my green beans very crunchy so I steamed the beans seperately and added when the pasta was cooked.



Serves: 2

Ingredients

175g dried Trofie pasta
75g green beens
75g Charlotte potatoes
Freshly grated Pecorina Romano, to serve

For the pesto

80g fresh basil, stalks removed
1 large garlic clove
1 tablespoon pine nuts
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
25g freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Salt

Method

In a large saucepan, heat 2.25 litres of salted water and bring to the boil. Add the pasta, stir once and boil briskly for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, make the pesto. Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil together with some salt into a food processor and blend until you have a smooth puree. The transfer to a bowl and stir in the grated Pecorino Romano.

Next, trim the beans and cut into three. Leaving the skins on , slice potatoes about 3-4mm thick. Once pasta has been cooking for about 10 minutes throw in the beans and potatoes. Now give the ingredients a stir and bring back to the boil, then cook for 8 mins.

Drain the pasta, potatoes and beans in a colander, leaving a little water still clinging to them. Tip everything back into the saucepan, add the pesto sauce and stir.  Sprinkle Pecorino to taste.

A good accompaniment would be salad leaves with a extra virgin olive oil and some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

If you want to make the pesto a day ahead, put in a small container and cover the surface with a thin layer of olive oil to seal off the air.

Seasonal vegetable list: Sept


Artichoke - aubergine - beetroot - broccoli - butternut squash - pumpkin - carrots - courgettes - fennel - marrow - brussel sprouts - cabbage - cauliflower - pak choi -  potatoes - peppers - onions - marrow - runner beans - sweetcorn - kohlrabi - rocket - radishes - mangetout - watercress - cucumber - lettuce - broad beans - french beans - parsnips - peas - spinach - swiss chard - swede - turnips - celery - shallots - spring onions - horseradish - garlic - tomatoes - mushrooms - chives - oregano - thyme - sorrel - parsley - rosemary - sage - mint - tarragon - coriander - basil - walnuts - cob nuts

Apples - apricots - oranges - lemons - damsons - dates - figs - blackberries - raspberries - blueberries - redcurrants - bilberries - peaches - pears - nectarines - grapefruit - plums - grapes - melons

Sunday, 4 September 2011

Eat: Zucchini Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon-Chive Dressing

This recipe from Martha Stewart has become a regular supper because I added wholewheat spaghetti to make it a complete meal.  You have to make it in two recipes, first you make the dressing and then combine with the courgette, then add to the wholewheat pasta and mix through. Its delicious and tastes just as good cold for lunch the following day.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 cup light cream
  • 1/3 cup freshly minced chives

Directions

  1. In a small jar, combine lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and shake until salt is dissolved. Add cream and chives; shake to blend. Season with salt. Store, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week. Shake to blend before using.


Courgette Spaghetti
Serves 4
       

Ingredients

  • 1 pound small courgette, rinsed, dried, and trimmed at both ends
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup creamy lemon-chive dressing
  • Fleur de sel

Directions

  1. Using the julienne blade of a mandoline, slice zucchini into long, thin strips. Transfer courgette to a colander set over a mixing bowl. Toss zucchini with salt. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Gently squeeze courgette to extract excess water. Transfer to a bowl and toss with just enough dressing to evenly coat the courgette. Season with fleur de sel and serve.

Furniture: Crystal Chiavari chair

This chair was seen in a recent post about the beautiful New York apartment owned by Harriet Maxwell and Andrew Corrie. I have since discovered that it has eco credientials and is available in the UK from Ebay.



100% recycleable and each part is replaceable. You can get it here on Ebay but to avoid flame retardents buy without the loose foam seat pad.

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Energy saving: Lexon Tykho Safe Dynamo Radio

Super eco friendly the radio/MP3 amplifier is powered by crank and made with biodegradable materials. Bamboo front and Shell in biodegradable plastic obtained from corn starch.

                     
Available from John Lewis

Interiors: Beautiful bedrooms

 via Flickr


 via the nest



Monday, 29 August 2011

Wear: Lilian Asterfield's upcycled ties

I recently mentioned a tutorial for upcycling ties but if you haven't the time or inclination then visit Lilian Asterfield's Etsy shop where you will find upcycled ties turned into lovely accessories.



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