WARNING: Not entirely healthy, but this is my children’s favourite quick meal if we have come back too late for me to spend any time on something. It takes about 20 minutes, it uses lashings of butter, but it is very delicious (even if it doesn’t look great in the photos). It got rave reviews…
Chickpeas, tomatoes and spinach
I must admit to getting a bit fidgety if I don’t have any cans of chickpeas or tomatoes or any frozen spinach in the house. (Have I already explained what a revelation frozen spinach was to me a few years ago?) This is one of my favourite stand-by recipes – a great store cupboard dish…
The lightest shortbread
I was recently given a lovely KitchenAid and since then having gone a bit baking-crazy, the excuse being to put a treat in the children’s lunch boxes. These shortbread biscuits quickly became a favourite. They are light as light, buttery and delicious with ice cream, homemade jam – or, as we found out with friends…
Best tomato sauce
I have been on the quest for a superb tomato sauce for some time now. I need a sauce to be rich, full of fresh flavour and with a slight heat to it. I’ve experimented with many recipes, sometimes just using garlic and tinned tomatoes, sometimes adding the classic soffrito trio of onions, carrots and…
Roasted tomato and cheese quiche
I haven’t ever really cooked much pastry in the past – I always thought it was too much faff or that I wasn’t very good at it. However, the husband declared recently that he wished I did. So I thought I’d look for a fairly easy quiche to start with. It went down extremely well…
Winter salad
I love our seasons and food that makes the most of those. My mum has been making this salad in the winter for as long as I can remember. It’s so simple but has a lovely sharpness and sweetness that’s quite comforting. It goes really well with warming dishes like the adzuki bean stew, here:…
Adzuki bean stew
This is a FANTASTICALLY healthy and warming stew. Adzuki beans are absolutely packed with protein, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese and vitamin B3! It’s also high in soluble fibre, which apparently helps to eliminate cholesterol. This recipe is based on one from a restaurant in Toronto called Fresh. I was given a book from…
Risotto bianca with pesto
Pesto! So so much more than the sum of its parts. There is nothing like the zing and vibrancy of homemade pesto, especially compared with shop-bought, even fresh, pesto. Although it’s not particularly low-cost, it’s very much worth the effort. This post is two recipes, then. The risotto bianca is a wonderful thing to master…
Lentil soup with thyme
I’m writing this on a very drab, chilly day when only a very hearty soup will do for lunch. I have gotten into the habit of making soup for weekend lunches, partly based on the fact that we’ll have all done exercise of some description in the morning and need the sustenance. Also, though, partly…
The Veg Isle 