My Kitchen Garden

I love this time of year, although this year, this time of year has come a little late due to what seemed like the lack of early Spring.  When the soil starts to warm up I get my seed packets out from seed I have saved from last year & beyond and a few fresh packets from the garden centre and start sowing my socks off!

This year, however, apart from the flowers I am only planting Cherry Tomatoes, Pomodoro Tomatoes, Medium Tomatoes (we love Tomatoes and use a lot in the kitchen), Courgettes, Chilli's of varying degrees of heat (Jalapeno, Chilli Cayenne & Scotch Bonnet), Basil, Oregano and Parsley.  Our garden has gone through a bit of a metamorphosis in the last couple of years and I'm not equipped for more than that this year.

The Tomatoes all popped out quite quickly, the Courgettes the same but the Chilli's took a long time to germinate and to date the Scotch Bonnet are still keeping us waiting!

I grow some vegetables every year but have always wanted a dedicated kitchen garden where I can grow most of my vegetables and herbs, I don't have time for an allotment even if I could get one.  This small, but perfectly formed kitchen garden is a start and what we can't eat we will swap with the neighbours, I've already been offered some beetroot, love it, all organic and fresh!

How does your garden grow this Spring??

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Foodies Festival - Hove (actually)

I had decided this year to try to attend as many Foodie Festivals, Farmers Markets, etc as I can now that my girl is over 2½.  But all good intentions and with her starting nursery, potty training, et al all  arriving at once plus the seemingly endless bad weather this year, I thought I would make the Foodies Festival at Brighton Hove Lawns on the May Day Bank holiday weekend my first foray into the foodie fiesta this year.

We purchased a VIP 2 for 1 deal plus child goes free.  The VIP tickets included a free glass of champagne on arrival, access to the VIP tent throughout the day, a taster meal from one of the pop-up restaurants - the choices were Jamie's Italian, Sams & Fishy Fishy, a goody bag which included coffee, chocolate, herb mix and lovely Elemis (a favourite brand of mine) beauty samples, plus reserved seating in theatre and masterclass sessions.

Sadly Saturday was a bit of a wash out weather wise with rain and wind but this did not dampen my enthusiasm and I set off sans famille to snap some fabulous food and drink.   Once the family had arrived we sat down for our very welcome glass of Lanson champagne, absolutely divine and I had another later in the afternoon just because! 

For our taster meals, we chose a deliciously fragrant fish curry from Fishy Fishy and Jaime's nachos with various dips.   We were sat next to Gennaro Contaldo and family, Jaime Oliver's mentor and partner in Jaime's Italian, in the VIP tent, he was charm personified, signing programmes for all who approached him.  His show was quite brilliant, packed to the rafters with everyone enthralled by his culinary skills, he managed to produce 3 dishes in what seemed like no time at all.

We then grabbed some coffee's at the Coffee Club and headed home as the weather wasn't giving up any time soon but...

I found out that I could use my ticket for another day so off I set on Bank Holiday Monday on my own, free to wander, photograph and sample more food and a very cheeky Pimms!  What a difference the sun makes, the atmosphere was brilliant and so relaxed, everyone having a ball in the warmth of the sun by the sea and I managed to sample a few more offerings from stalls I had missed in the rain on Saturday.



excellent sourdough masterclass



There were numerous demonstrations and masterclasses on offer, ranging from childrens cooking to chocolate truffle making to sourdough making and cakes!  And the amazing amount of stalls apart from all the food vendors, there were those selling cheese, olives, condiments, wine, beer and icecream and much more - there was something for everyone!

A very enjoyable first Foodies Festival, cannot wait to attend more!

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Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Two Cheese Frittata

Most everything I cook/bake these days has the toddler girl in mind, I would usually add 2 red chilli's (not forgetting to remove every last seed!) to this frittata but she is still not mature enough for too many spicy foods, especially the way we like them, her time will come! 

This Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Two Cheese Frittata is packed with healthy anti-oxidant rich vegetables and protein rich eggs, great for the toddler tastebuds and a lovely supper dish for all the family.

Prep time -15-20 minutes

Cooking time - 20 minutes

Serves 3-4

Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Olive oil
175g Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
100g Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
4 medium organic free-range eggs
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
50g Mozzarella cheese, roughly grated or very thinly sliced
25g Parmesan cheese, grated
50ml crème fraîche
black pepper
Fresh Parsley

Put a pan of water on to boil, when boiling add Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato and cook for about 5 minutes, drain and set aside. 

In a large bowl add the eggs and lightly beat, then add the garlic, chilli, Mozzarella, Parmesan and crème fraîche, stir in until completely blended, scatter some black pepper into the mix to your own taste.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a heavy based frying pan, one that can be used in the oven, heat and add the egg mixture to the pan.  Cook on a low-medium heat for about 5 minutes to set the base, then transfer into a pre-heated oven for around another 15 minutes until lightly golden.  Scatter with fresh parsley.

Serve with a side salad and some deliciously crusty bread and butter!

I am entering this post into the #eggmainsinminutes Linky on BritMums sponsored by British Lion Eggs, take a look at the Main Meals in Minutes site at http://www.eggrecipes.co.uk/mainmealsinminutes.

 

Quick Nutritional Info

Eggs - B Complex, Vitamins A, D, E, Iodine, Zinc, Phosphorus, Selenium.

Butternut Squash - Vitamin A, C, E, B-complex - folic acid, vitamins, B1, B2, B3 and B6. Iron, zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.

Sweet Potato - Vitamin A, B1, B2, B5, B6,C, Calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.



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Roasted Vine-ripened Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

I still have fond memories of a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup and a buttered roll after a long walk or run in the freezing cold.  These days the amount of soup choices are many and varied but sometimes I just have to go back to Tomato soup. 

I like to use a mix of cherry tomatoes and larger vine-ripened tomatoes but will go with whatever is in the fridge and needs to be used.  Also because I am not a huge fan of red peppers my recipe is more tomato based, but you can, of course, double or triple the amount of red peppers to your own taste.  The soup can be made a couple of days in advance and can be frozen.

Both Tomatoes and Red Peppers provide a healthy serving of immunity boosting nutrients.  They are a fantastic source of anti-oxidants especially beta-carotene and vitamin C, both are especially high in lycopene, which gives them their vivid red colour.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cooking time:  40 minutes
Serves: 2 and a tiddler 

Pre-heat your oven to 220°C, 200° fan, gas 7

Ingredients

600g Tomatoes
1 large red pepper, halved and de-seeded
1 red or white onion, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons of tomato purée*
1 litre of homemade vegetable stock
Seasoning

*I use Sainsburys Tomato and Vegetable purée

Arrange the red peppers and tomatoes in an oiled roasting tin and give a good swirl in the oil coating them all.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Roast for around 20-25 minutes until soft.

Gently fry the onion until soft then stir in the tomato purée and combine well.  Add the roasted peppers and tomatoes, then add the stock.  Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes.  Leave to cool before blending until smooth, season as necessary.

Lovely served with Seeded Thins spread thinly with coconut oil, my favourite oil!


Nutritional Info:

Tomatoes - Vitamins A, B3, B5, B6, Biotin, Folic Acid, C, E, K, beta-carotene, Lycopene, Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc.

Red Peppers - Vitamins B3, B6, Biotin, Folic Acid, C, E, K, beta-carotene, Lycopene, Calcium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc.

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Butternut Squash Ginger Soup & the 5:2 diet

Soups deliver such concentrated nutrition, even the little girl is amenable to soup even if it is a few mouthfuls, I can be assured that my homemade soup is full of natural goodness.

Butternut Squash is one of my (many) favourite vegetables, with its dense, orange flesh, it is delicious and sweet with a nutty flavour.  I have wrestled with many a Butternut Squash and have now found the perfect peeler for the tough outer skin thanks to a visit to Lakeland, so now its less challenging and faster to prepare too!

Carrots can be used instead of the Butternut Squash or a mix of both is good too, soup has so many variations and each has their own place within each season.  Although this year the seasons have gone a little awry with snow in April here!

Butternut Squash Ginger Soup is satisfying and filling on my 5:2 fast diet days.  And just in case you haven't heard about this yet, the 5:2 Fast Diet was brought to us by Dr Michael Moseley when he was researching the health and longevity claims for the BBC2 Horizon programme Eat Fast and Live Longer - for 2 days a week you aim for 500 calories for women and 600 for men.  I have got this down to a fine art now & can easily get around the 500 calorie mark with soups on the menu, I've gone a little soup loopy but they are just so easy and delicious, plus you can use up any lingering vegetables from the fridge so less waste!

I make up a pot which will last for the couple of days fasting and is extremely low in fat and calories.  The addition of Ginger gives the soup an interesting zing and warmth.  On non-5:2 days I add crème fraîche, chilli flakes and black pepper which lifts the flavours even more!

For my pot of soup, some of which can be frozen too, popped in ice cube trays for easy access to soup for kiddie meals, I used around 600g of butternut squash, I did weigh it for the benefit of this blog post but usually I just use a medium Butternut Squash.

Prep time:  15 mins

Cooking time:  20 minutes

Ingredients

half a tsp butter - I use unsalted
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
about an inch of root Ginger
600g Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into small cubes
1 litre of homemade vegetable stock
black pepper, optional

Method

Gently fry the Onion, Garlic and Ginger for a couple of minutes in the butter then add a few tablespoons of water to steam fry for another 2-3 minutes. 

Add the Butternut Squash and steam fry for a further 5 minutes.

Add the Vegetable Stock, I make my own which increases the nutritional value of the soup too, see my blog post on Stock.

Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the Butternut Squash is soft and tender.

Cool, then blend in a liquidiser. 

Nutritious and delicious.

Quick Nutritional Info

Butternut Squash - Vitamin A, C, E, B-complex - folic acid, vitamins, B1, B2, B3 and B6. Iron, zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.

Ginger - anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, carminative, anti-microbial properties.  Potassium, manganese, copper, and magnesium.

Flavour Packed Vegetable Stock

I've been making my own vegetable stock forever especially in the colder months and this year being colder for longer I've made a small batch this weekend. It's so simple to do and it's a great way to use up excess vegetables.  Carrots, celery and onion make up the base of my stock and from there I add different vegetables depending on what's usually in the fridge, parsnips, leeks and sometimes cabbage, swede and mushrooms have made their way into the pot.

I use parsley, bay and black peppercorns but also have used thyme, garlic and other herbs, there really is no set menu for making your own recipe vegetable stock.  The stock I'm making here is perfect for tiny tastebuds too, mine doesn't like garlic very much yet so will leave it out of this batch.

Today's pot of goodness includes:

2 organic carrots, chopped - I don't peel, just give a good scrub
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 parsnip, peel and cut lengthways
1 small swede, chopped
1 leek including the green part, trim the end off and cut lengthways
3 cabbage leaves, the very outer greener ones
small handful of parsley including stalks
a few black peppercorns
1 bay leaf


Put all the vegetables into a pan, I'm using my trusty old (and it is very old but still so good) Le Creuset pan and add 2 litres of water.   Depending on the size of your pan you can add more or less water, more will, of course, produce a more lighter flavoured stock and with less the stock will have a more concentrated infusion.  2 litres fills my pot nicely and produces a delicious, well-flavoured stock.

Simmer for 1-2 hours, I know this seems a bit vague but an hour is fine but if I have the time I do like to give it a bit more simmering time.  Stir occasionally to further blend the flavours.

For extra depth of flavour you can also fry the vegetables gently first in a little oil before adding the water.  For soups though I prefer a simple, fresh and light stock.

Take off the heat and strain through a sieve and leave to cool.  The stock liquid can now be used as the base for soups or to make rissoto, quinoa, etc. 

Once cooled the stock can be frozen, mine is used up pretty quickly as I make a lot of soups which are fabulous for the 5:2 diet which I am still doing every week, it has become a habit now, part of my week and having low-calorie, highly nutritious soups to keep my appetite satiated has been amazingly helpful. 

The cooked vegetables can also be blended down and included in many recipes.  The vegetables will still contain plenty of fibre and a huge shame to waste.  I use them in soups for the tiddler, blended down or added to casseroles.  We also make veggie burgers, mixing the mashed vegetables with breadcrumbs and egg, seasonings and sometimes cheese.  So many uses for extra veg!

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Thank you Foodies100

Thank you Foodies100 for including me in the

Best of the Foodie Blogs: Ten at Ten (60) – The Bread Edition!