I’m having a little cleaning flurry. Where I sit at the breakfast bar to write this blog, I get a birdseye view of the wall behind my worktop/stove, where all the action takes place. When we redesigned our kitchen, we got one thing wrong: we allowed the nice man at Vitra to convince us that matte tiles were OK to use as a splashback. Not true, never be tempted to try this at home. It is practically impossible to remove grease spots from the little darlings – the grease just soaks into the tiles. Continue reading “Heidi’s Tongan ham & cheese pancake rolls”
Tag: Vegetarian
Thai-spiced pumpkin soup
It’s hard to believe we are two thirds of the way through October already – the weather is absolutely glorious, the water is still warm(ish) and our government has decided not to put back the clocks with the rest of Europe next weekend. Woohoo, this is such good news – it means we will have daylight later into the afternoons for walking this winter. Continue reading “Thai-spiced pumpkin soup”
The Sacrifice (and raspberry ripple muffins)
I’ve just spent a fascinating five minutes watching another giant hornet (or it might be the same one – brown head, brown wings, yellow striped jumper, six engines…) trying to take off with a cat biscuit that one of our mob left in their dish outside on the terrace. Our cat biscuits are about the size of a British penny, so that gives you an idea just how big these pesky beasts are. The locals call them donkey bees – not sure why that is – maybe because of their penchant for carrying things around. Anyway, he was having trouble getting enough lift, so he solved this by nibbling all around the edges of the biscuit to make it a bit smaller – hey presto, we have lift off. He’s probably got a very fully tummy though, so I’m not sure whether he’ll make it safely to his destination with his prize. Continue reading “The Sacrifice (and raspberry ripple muffins)”
What to do with that Swiss Chard in your veggie box
Today is probably the hottest since we arrived back – ironic, since we’ve just moved into September. This morning it was 44 degrees, but has now cooled to a more manageable 34, so I might yet venture out – according to our little weather station, the temperature has been as low as 27 at some point since midnight – not sure when that was, I must have missed it while I was asleep. When I had my morning swim, I complained that the pool was starting to get cold – a quick temperature check assured me it was still 32 degrees in the water – it must have been the super-hot air temperature confusing me. Either that or I really have turned into a total wimp. Continue reading “What to do with that Swiss Chard in your veggie box”
Leek & onion tarts
No posts for 18 days, now two come along at once.
To be truthful, posting on the blog allows me to sit in air-conditioned bliss at the kitchen counter, feeling as though I am doing something slightly useful (while attempting to ignore the fact that there is a pile of ironing in the spare bedroom so big that it’s starting to block out the daylight).
Today is a half-day holiday before Eid Al-Fitr, the feast that follows the month of fasting during Ramadan, or Ramazan as it is called here. Known in Turkey as Şeker Bayramı, literally ‘sugar festival’, the local children will be out early tomorrow morning, knocking on their neighbours’ doors, looking for sweets and pennies. Watch out for tomorrow’s easy chocolate muffin recipe, which I’ll be cooking up for any children passing this way. Continue reading “Leek & onion tarts”
Slow roasted tomato and red pepper soup (5:2 recipe)
I am very excited because tomorrow we are off on an unexpected jaunt to the Jurançon wine district in France and then travelling back here next week via Amsterdam – a city I have always wanted to visit. Getting to places from here is never simple, so we are going by a very convoluted route, which involves four different airlines. (*Sighs dramatically*) The route was originally going to involve the TGV, but in view of the strikes, we’ve decided to avoid that option. Continue reading “Slow roasted tomato and red pepper soup (5:2 recipe)”
Spinach, goat’s cheese and walnut tart
When I have a weird collection of vegetables in the fridge that need using up, my thoughts immediately switch to one of three things: soup, curry, tart. I bought a big bunch of spinach at the weekend, not really knowing what I was going to do with it, and there it was, still glaring at me when I opened the fridge to get the milk this morning.
There were also a couple of tired leeks and half of a wedge of goat’s cheese, which I must confess is long past its sell-by date (things like goat’s cheese shouldn’t have a sell-by date in my opinion – it just gets tastier. If it really has gone over, it will be sporting some kind of colourful mould that will give you a tip-off that it’s going to try to kill you if you eat it). Continue reading “Spinach, goat’s cheese and walnut tart”
Asian ‘lobby’ rice pot
My brother loves a ‘lobby’. The kind of thing where you just lob everything into the pan and hope for the best. Despite his enthusiasm for throwing caution to the wind, I tend to be marginally more scientific about it – I start with a recipe, pick it to pieces, keep the bits I like the look of, and change everything else. I don’t apply this principle to baking, I hasten to add – in that case, I would definitely try the recipe first, then make modifications. Continue reading “Asian ‘lobby’ rice pot”
(Thank you Marcus Kennedy for the pearl barley idea)
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