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ROAST CARROT HUMOUS

by July 31, 2018

Here is the recipe for my Roast Carrot Humous which I made to go with my Beetroot Burgers.

Homous is a very easy thing to make and how you make it and how much of each thing you add is very much up to you and your personal preference.  Everytime I make it I make it slightly differently, as I don’t really measure things, just put them in and adjust to taste.

Firstly, roast some carrots.  I used four medium sized organic carrots, scrubbed them and chopped them into half lengthways and then chopped each half into thirds.  I put them on an oven tray and drizzled them with olive oil and roasted them in the oven at 180 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.  You want them to be brown and soft.  You will need to check on them during cooking and turn them over.  Leave to cool.

Humous:

  • Roast Carrots as above
  • 1 can/packet of organic Chickpeas – drained and rinsed
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Lemon Juice – 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of Tahini
  • 1 clove of crushed Garlic
  • Freshly ground Black Pepper
  • Pinch of Sea Salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor and whizz until you reach the consistency you like.  Some people like their Homous very smooth, others like it with bits left in it, it is really up to you.  If it is a little too dry, you can add a little more lemon juice or olive oil, depending on how you want it to taste.

This is a basic recipe really for Homous, you can adjust it or add extra flavours to it depending on your mood and what you want it to go with.  Instead of Roast Carrot, you could add Roast Beetroot.  You can add Spices.  You could add Roasted and Peeled Red Peppers.  You could add some Chilli Flakes.  Use your imagination and experiment with the flavours you like.

 

 

VEGETARIAN BEETROOT BURGERS AND CRISPY ROAST POTATOES

by July 30, 2018

I am back from a lovely 10 days in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, where I ate lots of delicious food and drank delicious Italian wine.  However after 10 days of restaurant food I was really looking forward to cooking again and having home cooked meals.  So for dinner last night I made Beetroot Burgers and my husband made his fabulous roast potatoes to go with them.  I am not supposed to eat wheat (very hard not to do that in Italy!!!) so my burger was without a bun (back to trying to be wheat free) but the rest of the family actually had theirs as a burger in a burger bun (but I forgot to take a photo of that!).

Firstly I needed some breadcrumbs so I made some bread using the McCambridges Gluten Free Bread Kit, so I could then make some breadcrumbs out of it.  I have never used this before, but a friend recommended it and it is actually very nice.  The package says to mix it in the plastic bag provided in the box, but I found once it was cooked there were little pockets of flour which had not been mixed properly so next time I will just put it in a bowl and thoroughly mix it before putting it in the provided tin.  

 

Now for the Burger recipe!

  • 350g grated raw Beetroot.  ((I used the big grater attachment on my food processor)
  • 1 bunch Spring Onions finely sliced
  • 100g Cratloe Hills Gold Mature Cheese grated (Vegetarian rennet used therefore Vegetarian Cheese)
  • 150g Feta Cheese crumbled (M&S Feta is vegetarian)
  • 140g Walnuts, toasted in a hot pan until just brown
  • bunch finely chopped fresh Mint
  • 150g Breadcrumbs
  • 1 Chia Egg  (I dessertspoon chia seeds with four dessertspoons of water left for at least 20 minutes – stir a couple of times during this 20 minutes so it does not form lumps)
  • Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

 

Put some extra virgin olive oil into a pan and let it warm up gently, then add the beetroot and spring onions and cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  You want the beetroot to be a bit soft, but not too much.  You can leave this mixture to cool slightly whilst you grate the cheese etc.

Put all ingredients into a bowl except for the chia egg, and mix thoroughly.  Add enough chia egg a little at a time to get the correct consistency.  You want it to be the consistency of a normal burger mix, not too dry and not too wet.  It is easier to add the chia egg, impossible to take it out!!!  I used about half of mine.

Form into 6 burgers.  You can either bake them in the oven, (but they do not really go brown) or you can pan fry them in a little bit of ghee to get colour on them (which does look more appetising).  I actually put them in the oven on 180 degrees for 20 minutes whilst I was preparing the other things, and then briefly pan fried them at the end.  If you are going to do this, then preheat your oven whilst preparing the burger mix and place a sheet of non stick baking paper on the baking dish.

I served them with finely sliced onion, sliced tomato, lettuce and some Roast Carrot Humous which I had made earlier in the day.  For everyone else there were also toasted burger buns!!

(This is my version of the Happy Pear Beetroot Burgers!)

Recipe for Roast Potatoes and Roast Carrot Humous to follow!!!!

OVERNIGHT OATS – 3 WAYS!!!

by July 12, 2018

I made this Overnight Oats Base Recipe and so far have had them for three mornings with three different toppings  –  all healthy and delicious.

They make a very quick and easy breakfast as once you make the base recipe, it lasts well in the fridge and all you have to do is add your toppings to them in the morning.   The oats give you sustained energy through the morning, the pumpkin and chia seeds add protein, the chopped date adds sweetness, the berries, apple and pear provide lots of fibre and nutrients.  This amount of base recipe is enough for four mornings for me, as I find it quite filling and this breakfast keeps me feeling satisfied all morning.  (The oats will absorb the coconut yoghurt and the coconut milk, so if you find that they have become too thick, just add a little more milk).

BASE RECIPE:

  • 100g organic Porridge Oats (use Gluten Free Oats for a gluten free version)
  • 50g Goji Berries
  • 3 Medjool dates, chopped into small pieces
  • 250mls Coconut Yoghurt
  • 150mls Coconut Milk (from a carton – I like the Rude Health brand)

 

TOPPING 1:

  • 1/2 sliced Banana
  • handful of Strawberries, halved
  • 1 dessertspoon of Chia Seeds
  • 1 dessertspoon of Pumpkin Seeds

 

 

TOPPING 2:

  • Handful of Blueberries
  • Handful of Raspberries
  • 1 dessertspoon of Chia Seeds
  • 1 dessertspoon of Pumpkin Seeds

 

 

TOPPING 3:

  • 1/2 Apple chopped
  • 1/2 Pear chopped
  • Handful of Blueberries
  • 1 dessertspoon of Chia Seeds
  • 1 dessertspoon of Pumpkin Seeds

 

There are so many more variations you could make, chopped pineapple, mango, papaya, various nuts – just add your favourites!!

I used this coconut yoghurt and found it nice and creamy with a good flavour.

 

 

 

SWEET AND SOUR CUCUMBERS

by July 11, 2018

My vegetable garden is doing very well in this good weather, so I spent a morning preserving things I had a lot of.

I had quite a few cucumbers to use up so thought I would pickle some of them in a sweet and sour liquid.  These Sweet and Sour Cucumbers are delicious with cheese, smoked fish or just added to a salad.

  • 1kg cucumbers
  • 2 large mild onions, cut in half
  • 1 tbsp dill – chopped
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200mls cider vinegar

This is very quick and easy if you have a food processor.  Using the fine slicing attachment, slice the cucumbers into rounds and the 1/2 onions so you have half moon shapes.  If you don’t have a food processor, you will have to do all the slicing with a sharp knife!

Combine the cucumber, onion and dill in a large bowl.

Mix the sugar, salt and vinegar together and pour over the cucumber mixture.  Mix together well.  Leave for the flavour to develop for at least three hours.

 

Put mixture into sterilised jars and cover with the liquid in the bowl.

Store your Sweet and Sour Cucumbers in the fridge !

 

RASPBERRY ICY POLES

by July 7, 2018

With this beautiful hot weather sometimes you just need to have an Icy Pole !!!

My raspberry plants produce tiny raspberries, so I used them up by making these Icy Poles.  They are very refreshing and a real treat on a hot day.

  • 300g raspberries
  • 1 sprig of fresh mint
  • 50g icing sugar
  • 400 mls Belvoir Raspberry Sparkling Fruit Drink

The original recipe asked for lemonade, and I was surprised when looking for lemonade to see that all the lemonades I looked at had artificial sweeteners in them, even if they were not labelled sugar free.  So I was very happy to find that the Belvoir Raspberry Sparkling Fruit Drink had no artificial ingredients and I used this to make my icy poles instead.  (The “Light” on the bottle refers to less sugar than in the original drink)

Put the raspberries, sugar and mint leaves in a nutribullet and whizz until it is smooth.  (Use a blender if you don’t have a nutribullet).

Pour mixture through a fine sieve to get rid of all the seeds.

Add the Sparkling Fruit Drink to the sieved berry mixture, and stir until it is all combined.

Pour into your icy pole moulds and freeze until they are solid.

Delicious!!!!!

This recipe is very easy to play around with.  You could substitute strawberries, or use a mixture of both raspberries and strawberries if you wanted.  You could also leave out the mint if you don’t like it.  Or you could use watermelon instead of the berries which would also be delicious.

Be careful when eating them, as they do drip and raspberry juice is a pain to get out of your clothes!!!!!

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