Blossoms, Black Beans and Easter Bunnies

I hope you all had a good weekend, and for those in the U.K. a long Bank Holiday weekend that actually included sunshine for a change.  I would first like to thank you all for your comments on my last post, wise words of advice from you all which are much appreciated.  Looking back I remember feeling the same about our last home.  I was very emotional over leaving, I wanted to take the door frame where I had marked the childrens' height on their birthdays.  I couldn't even drive past for years because I didn't want to see the changes to it.  Yes I am a soppy old thing.

On my week off I had a wonderful trip to London, followed by a week of decorating which has left me with a bad knee which I twisted  going up and down the ladder.  Topped off by a weekend with family including the three grandchildren.  Oh and you remember I 'glutened' myself with bourbon while away?  This week while chatting to a friend on the phone I picked up and ate the full of gluten hot cross bun instead of the gluten free ones I had bought.  I must be having 'senior' moments!


Our weekend was spent searching for trolls in the woods, crabs in the rock pools and Easter bunnies

It was our youngest grandchilds' first trip to the beach, as you can see he was very excited.  He actually slept the whole time!

Although I could do with another week off to get over the last one, I returned to work today and of course missed the glorious weather.  It at last feels less like winter and my cherry tree is out in all it's showy best.  Sadly the pink one hasn't flowered much for years.  Anyway, being back to the usual routine means rushing to get something on the table when I get home so it was a store cupboard  quick and simple meal this evening.  Made up as I went along of course but here's what I did

BLACK BEAN BURGERS


Whizz one red onion in the food processor until finely chopped.

Add 1 tin/carton of black beans, drained.

1 - 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce

Buckwheat flour, enough to make the mixture bind together.

Whizz again until mixed together.

Form into burgers and fry gently until crispy on the outside and heated through.  Serve with lots of lovely salad and tomatoes in a gluten free burger bun with ketchup of course.

I try to use as many legumes as possible as they are a good source of protein for vegetarians.  Black beans are also a good source of folic acid, magnesium, potassium and iron and are said to be good for your digestive system.  A very quick, simple and healthy after work supper.

Chickpea xx

Mad March and Spiralised Meals.

I can't believe we are into March already, the year seems to be whirling past in a mad rush.  At the moment life seems to be busy busy busy!  Everyday has something marked onto the calendar, lots of fun things, a friends birthday party, another trip to Eden, basketmaking workshops.  Work to be done on the house after at last finding a reliable handyman, and the ongoing decluttering.  Hopefully a trip to London, all fitting in around my job.  I'm not complaining, it is nice to feel fit and healthy enough to do everything.  I have had the all clear from the surgeon, though no gym allowed, and my shoulder is improving thanks to the clacky man, (or should that be cracky man as it felt like he was going to crack some bones at times) though no long drumming sessions allowed just yet.  Crikey, I took my body for granted when I was younger, when it starts playing up you realise how much you rely on everything working in good order.

We are having our creaky stairs sorted next week, but it means we will not be able to use them for 24 hours.  I'm not sure how we are going to manage that one, we don't really want to stay somewhere else, we can sleep on the sofas but showering in the morning will be out if we can't get upstairs.  I spend half the night on the sofa anyway because of the damn insomnia.  I was typing this at 2 a.m. this morning as I got fed up of trying to sleep so came downstairs.

The tomato seeds have been planted, fingers crossed I will get some plants, and I'm hoping to get some more seeds in this week.  This gardening lark is pretty time consuming!  We have had several hail storms so I'm afraid I've not done much outside fair weather gardener that I am.  It has been really interesting reading peoples blogs about their growing plans and picking up tips.  Blog world is just so full of information.

As promised I will show you some of the things I have been making with my spriralizer.  I have been using it often and it is quick to use and easy to clean.

So far I have made:

Several quick raw carrot and courgette salads.

Raw beetroot and carrot salad

and my favourite, spirallised butternut squash gently sauted, I then added grilled mushrooms, tomatoes and pesto, a really quick tasty meal.

I also made some sweet potatoes curly fries, scoffed before photographed.

I'm sure there are lots more you can do with it, I look forward to experimenting.

Chickpea xx

Xmas Lentil Bake

I have been scratching my head trying to decide on the vegetarian option for Xmas dinner.  Myself and our sons are vegetarian, I can't eat gluten and my sons don't like mushrooms or nuts very much. We have all the veg and trimmings and for my sons I wrap veggie bacon around veggie sausage, but I still wanted something that looked a bit special and xmassy  We all love lentils so I decided on a lentil bake with cranberry sauce.

For the ingredients I used

300g red lentils washed
1 large onion
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper
veg boullion
1 cooking apple
grated cheese
50g breadcrumbs ( I used gluten free)
1 egg

Put the lentils in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil.  Boil for 10 mins then cover and simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes until soft.  Drain any excess water by putting it in a sieve and letting it drip, it should be a thick paste.

Chop the onion and pepper and saute until soft, add pressed garlic, herbs, tomato puree and salt and pepper and cook for a further minute.

Add the lentils to the onion mix along with the grated cheese (make it as cheesy as you like) breadcrumbs, egg and grated apple.  Give it a good mix.

I used mini loaf tins which I greased well with a little oil then filled with the mix. You can see from the size of the wooden spoon how small they are so they are ideal for individual bakes. It makes about 4 or you could make one larger bake, which will take longer to cook.  Alternatively you could make tinier bakes in a muffin tray.

I then baked them for about 30 to 40 minutes at 200 c until they were heated through and browned.

Use a knife to loosen the edges and carefully turn onto the plate, they may be a bit soft.   I then warmed some cranberry sauce to serve on the top.  They can be made ahead and put in the freezer in the tins covered with foil before you cook them. Cook them from frozen but make sure they are cooked through.  Remove the foil about half way through to brown them.



Chickpea xx

Polenta Fingers and Childhood Memories

Work, shop, clean, cook and relax.........


I treated myself to Polenta 'fingers' this evening, probably not the best thing to eat if you are trying to lose weight, but what the heck. (actually the glass of wine may have a few calories in it as well) I made a spicy tomato sauce to eat with them. They are so easy to make, I make up a batch of them and put some in the freezer.  I am making some 'freezer' meals for when I am recovering, I will have to take if easy for a while, so I want to be prepared.  There is lots of carrot soup in the freezer, I could live on that for a while!!

 I was so sad to hear of the death of Robin Williams.  By coincidence  the kids were discussing the films they remember from their childhood at the weekend.  The boys remembered me taking them to see Jumanji, it was a favourite for them, along with Hook.  I remember him from his Mork and Mindy days, I loved that show.  He was such a huge talent, the world will be a duller place without him.

Having the grandchildren here, means we have been watching CBB's (the children's channel) to take our granddaughters mind off her chicken pox.  It is on all day!  How things have changed since I was a child.  It is strange to think that programmes were on for a few hours a day, with the Test Card on the screen for most of the day.  Yes I am that old!  I remember Watch with Mother coming on at lunch time, with Bill and Ben, Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, all in black and white of course. There has been a modern version of Bill and Ben, but it's not the same.   The old ones were so bad they were good, if you know what I mean.  Do you have a favourite programme or film from your childhood?  (you know you will be giving your age away by answering)  I must admit, out of the children's programmes on now I like In the Night Garden, it is absolutely bonkers!

I have been trying to keep up with everyones blogs, I love reading about other peoples lives, where you live and your interests.  You are a talented lot :)  Thank you for your comments, it is lovely to hear from you.

I will leave you with a little clip from Mork and Mindy.

Nanoo nanoo

Chickpea xx

Party Food - Cauliflower and Leek Bhajis

Cauliflower and Leek Bhajis

The family are gathering ready for the party tomorrow and the shopping cleaning and cooking is being stepped up a pace as I keep looking at my watch and having a little panic.  I've been running around in such a flap I didn't even realise I had my top on inside out all day.

This afternoon I made some Cauliflower and Leek Bhajis ready for tomorrow, I love Indian food and these tick all the boxes for me as they are veggie and gluten free.  I found this recipe in The Guardian under the Susanna Booth food section, they are really easy to make, and they make a change from Onion Bhajis

300g cauliflower
2 med. leeks
1 tbsp olive oil
100g  gram (chickpea) flour
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch of salt
80 ml water
2 tsp mango chutney
2 tsp tomato puree
olive oil for drizzling


Preheat oven to 180c/350f/gas4

Wash and prepare the cauliflower and leeks.  Dice the cauliflower into tiny pieces, cut the leeks lengthwise and then into thin slices.  Fry gently in the oil for 5 mins until just soft.

Put the gram flour, spices and salt in a bowl.  Add the water, chutney and tomato puree and mix to a smooth paste.  Add the fried vegetables and stir until everything is well coated.

Drizzle oil across a baking tray and distribute it evenly across the tray.  Dollop the bhaji mix on the tray 1 tbsp at a time.  Flatten them a little and drizzle more oil over the top.

Bake for 10 - 15 mins until a little brown.  Flip them over and bake for a further 10 - 15 mins until well browned and glistening.


Usually the amount stated above is fine, but for the party I have doubled the amount which made 25. They can be eaten hot or cold.  Serve with your favourite dip, I like raita with mine.

Chickpea xx

Simple food

Todays packed lunch


 On the day I go shopping I usually try to use up any vegetables leftover from the previous week.  Today I had a butternut squash, courgettes, onions, and some very small home grown new potatoes, I also had some eggs to use up.  I decided on roast veg frittata inspired by a Hugh Fearnley -Whittingstall recipe I found last year when I needed a dish that could be eaten cold to take to a party.

My style of cooking is a 'make it up as you go along' method, I look in the fridge/ cupboards and adapt a recipe to go with whatever I have.  Sometimes it turns out beautifully, others not so, but I eat it anyway, as I hate waste, I had it drummed into as a child that you do not waste food  There are so many cookery programmes on the television with huge lists of ingredients, complicated cooking methods, and posh names that it can be really intimidating. There is nothing wrong with simple food, a few good ingredients and simple cooking methods.

The beauty of this frittata is that you can change the ingredients according to season, use up your veg, and it can go towards your 7 a day.   It's all done in one dish so you don't have a kitchen full of dirty pans and needs minimum attention so you can get on with other things while it's cooking.  Choose veg that roast well and cut them into medium size chunks.   Put them into an oven proof dish with a little oil, I used sunflower, salt and pepper and mix to coat the veg, cook on about 190c until softened and turning brown. Beat as many eggs as it takes to nearly cover the veg, season again to your own taste and add some herbs.  I add tarragon (fresh or dried) as I think it goes really well with egg, but use whatever you have. You could also grate some cheese on top if you wish.  Pour it over the hot veg and put back into the oven until the egg is set and it's slightly brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Don't leave it too long as I did one day when I wandered off to do something else and forgot it was in the oven.   Turned out very rubbery on top!

I had it hot for my evening meal last night, and some for my lunch box today eaten cold.  It's vegetarian and gluten free so suits me, but add whatever you like to it.  It beats buying sandwiches.

Enjoy,

Chickpea xx