Sweetheart Cabbage with Lemon and Pinenuts

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My friends E and JM have recently moved into the flat downstairs. It's great to have such lovely neighbours for a change. The complete opposite to the guy next door who goes out of his way not to say hello. They had been send some Jamon from Spain and were kind enough to share the joy of it by bringing it along for dinner 'upstairs'. We had some of it just as it was and wrapped some around some steamed green asparagus. Simple perfection.



If you read my last post you'll also know that I got a sweetheart cabbage in my veg box and wasn't all that sure what to do with it. Thanks for your suggestions. I also started looking on the net for ideas and found a very simple recipe which sounded good to me and which I thought might go well alongside the asparagus and jamon. The basis of the recipe is pretty good and the cabbage and pinenuts work really well but I'd reduce the lemon juice to half a lemon as I found the flavour to be a bit overpowering. Nevertheless, here's the original recipe as found on the Grow Wild website. Try it for yourself and see how much lemon juice you like in there!



Sweetheart Cabbage

1 sweetheart cabbage (shredded)
a handful of pine nuts
Olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Steam your cabbage for about 6-8 minutes.

In the meantime toast the pine nuts on a dry pan until light brown. You need to watch them and keep them moving to avoid them burning.

Put about half of the toasted pine nuts in a pestle and mortar and coarsely crush them.

Drain the cabbage, pour over a good swig of olive oil, add the pine nuts (both crushed and whole), the lemon juice and season with black pepper.

There's a first for everything

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For a long time now I have been thinking about ordering an Organic veg box, but for some reason or other I never did. I always thought I'd never get through all the contents before they go off, that I wouldn't like not choosing my own fruit and veg from the shop, some of the stuff might not be all that fresh and that they are too expensive. Well, I was given the opportunity to finally try one and have to say I was so wrong.

Today my first Organic veg box from Abel & Cole arrived on my doorstep and all the reasons that always put me off in the past went straight out of the window. There isn't really any more fruit and veg than I would buy in a normal week anyways, I'm quite excited to find some things that I wouldn't normally buy *, all the produce is wonderfully fresh and you can even smell that it's gonna taste great and it doesn't really cost anymore than buying my veg at the store either.



I was excited to open the box and see what it contained: 5 apples, 6 oranges, 5 bananas, a bag of mushrooms, a punnet of cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, green lettuce, a sweetheart cabbage, a bag of radishes and potatoes. All lovely, fresh, colourful, untreated and sourced from British farms (apart from the Fairtrade bananas which of course didn't grow in Britain).




* Even though I have eaten and enjoyed sweetheart or pointed cabbage in the past, I have never bought and cooked it myself before. Does anybody have a great recipe suggestion for me?

Caramel Crumble Cinnamon Loaf Cake

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Sounds like a good cake, doesn't it? But I should call it Looks Like It's Been Dropped Cake or Caramel Crumble Car Crash Cake. Nevertheless, I thought that I can't always just write about the successes in my kitchen and cover up the near misses, disasters and casualties. And actually there isn't really anything wrong with the flavour of cake, it's just the fact that half of it stuck in the pan and a bit of the caramel crumble top broke off as well.

That all would have also been only half as bad if the cake had been for me. As some of you will know I'm the resident birthday cake baker at work though, and this was the cake I made for A's birthday. As I didn't have enough ingredients, time or patience to start all over again, I just patched it up and stuck a candle in it. After all, it's the thought that counts, isn't it?!

I have to say that all of us did enjoy it despite it's wonky appearance. The flavours are good and it's nice and moist. I'll probably make it again, I'll just make sure that I'll line the pan next time and don't just rely on greasing it. Next time I'll also take a picture with a proper camera, not just with my phone and I will post the recipe with my own instructions that will hopefully be a little easier to understand. For now you can find the recipe here.

Sweet & Sour Roasted Onions

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Time still seems to be flying by. When does it stop?

Don't get me wrong, I like being busy but at this rate it'll be winter before I know it. I went to Germany last weekend to spend some lovely time with my family and friends, thanks to being able to get a return flight ticket for £20.00. This weekend I'll be catching up with some friends in Yorkshire so there won't be much cooking in my kitchen again.

But, before I go away again I thought I'd quickly share this Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall recipe, which was published in the Guardian Weekend quite a while ago. I love onions, especially slow cooked or roasted as it brings out their natural sweetness. This makes a great side dish to go with any meat or fish.




Sweet & Sour Roasted Onions (serves 4)

1 lb small red onion or shallots, peeled and cut in halve
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 stick celery, finely chopped (optional)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree (paste in the US)
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons light muscovado sugar
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 190°C/Gas 5.

Put your onions in one layer into an oven dish.

Line the dish with baking paper, as the sauce will caramelise, which otherwise would make it quite a pain to clean.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the celery over medium heat until soft, for about 5 minutes. If you're not using any celery, just start with the next step, but shorten the frying time to two minutes. (I never use the celery as it isn't on my list of favourite vegetables.)

Add the garlic and sauté for a further five minutes.

Remove from the heat and add all the other ingredients, apart from the onions and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Season liberally with salt and pepper and pour the mixture over the onions.

Mix well until all the onions are coated evenly.

Place in your oven and roast for about one hour, stirring once halfway through.

The onions are done, when they are soft and caramelised, start checking after 45 minutes. The time depends a bit on their size.

Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Another occasion, another cake.

My friend N. retired a few weeks ago and since the leaving dos at work are usually quite a stiff affair, he decided he much rather wanted to have a picnic on a beach in Wales with all his friends. So yesterday we filled up quite a few cars with people and food and headed for Anglesey.

I think I can safely say that a wonderful time was had by all. What else is to be expected from a day full of sun, sand, sea, food and friends! Even though generally sand and food don't always mix that well, but only a few slices of smoked salmon and a couple of sausage rolls fell victim as far as I know.

I took a Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake along for the picnic. The recipe comes from my Avoca Tea Time cookbook. I bought the book last year whilst on holiday in Ireland after sampling some of the fantastic cakes in the Avoca Cafes. Just like everything I had tried in the tea rooms, this cake was delicious and went down really well with everyone who tried it.

Summer Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake

225gr unsalted butter, softened
225gr caster sugar
4 medium eggs, beaten
225gr self-raising flour
1/2tsp baking powder
35gr ground almonds
juice of and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
225gr mixed summer berries

juice of and finely grated zest of 3 lemons
175gr caster sugar

200gr summer berries (optional)

Preheat your oven to 150C/Gas 2.

Grease and line a 23cm springform pan. (Mine is 25cm and worked fine.)

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until it becomes pale in colour.

Then slowly add the eggs bit by bit and continue to beat until well combined.

With a wooden spoon gradually fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder.

Fold in the juice and zest of 1 lemon and finally half of the berries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan and spread it out evenly.

Top with the other half of the berries and bake for about an hour in your preheated oven. Mine took about an hour and ten minutes until the inserted wooden skewer came out clean.

Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack.

While the cake is still hot, warm the sugar with the zest and juice of three lemons in a sauce pan, stirring until the sugar disolves.

Prick the cake in several places with a wooden skewer and pour the hot sugar/lemon syrup over the warm cake. Don't forget to put some tin foil underneath your wire rack when you do this. It makes the cleaning up much easier as otherwise you'll have loads of sticky syrup on your table or worktop.

When the cake is cool top it with some extra summer berries (optional) and serve.

Food and Friends

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I haven't really got a new recipe to share, as I've been cooking and baking a lot of old favourites lately, like Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake (the link it takes you to my older post about the cake and the recipe).



If you've been following this blog you will by now have realised that there isn't much gourmet cooking or haute cuisine going on in my kitchen. The reason for that is that to me food and cooking is all about love, enjoyment, flavours and above all sharing with friends. I'm not saying that gourmet meals can't be all of those things too, but I generally like things a little more rustic and unpretencious. At least at home.



I've been really lucky these last few weeks and months, as there's been a lot of eating, drinking, talking and laughing with friends. That's what makes me tick and that's what makes me happy.




So this is a big THANK YOU to all of the lovely people in my life. Friends and family, who let me share with them, who come to my house and invite me into theirs. You know who you are. You make me happy!

Spicy Roast Aubergine with Chickpea Stew and Jeweled Couscous

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This has to be one of the best new recipes I have tried in quite a while.

My friends Lucy and H came round for a relaxed, girls only, midweek dinner last night. I started looking for things to cook the day before, as I wanted to use the opportunity and try out something new. I know that can be slightly risky business when you have guests, but I knew the girls would be forgiving and anyways when I saw the recipe on the Vegetarian Society Website, I was pretty sure that it was going to be good.



Well, good it was. I think I even heard the words 'better than sex' uttered by somebody. I made the chickpea stew the night before, so I just had to marinate and roast the aubergine and quickly make the couscous. The list of ingredients and the instructions look long but it all came together simply enough and the dish has loads of different flavours that work together really well. Every mouthful adds a new level.

I nearly slipped up, I forgot to add the toasted almonds. After we had finished our first serving I realised and quickly added them. They took the dish to a whole different level again, so make sure you don't forget them!

We rounded off the meal with fresh raspberries that Lucy had brought and Easy Peasy All in One Lemon Drizzle Cake. I made the cake using some home made Lemon Curd that Lucy had given to me last week. Delicious!



As with most recipes, I adjusted it ever so slightly and here's my version:

Spicy Roast Aubergines with Chickpea Stew and Jeweled Couscous (serves 4)

For the aubergines:
2 aubergines cut into bite sized cubes
1 bunch fresh mint, finely chopped
2 lemons, juice of
4 cloves garlic, minced
2tsp ground coriander
2tsp paprika
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground black pepper
1tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp harissa paste
1/2-1 tsp salt
4tbsp olive oil

For the chickpea stew:
2 onions, sliced
2tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp paprika
pinch cayenne
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
150ml vegetable stock
1tbsp caster sugar
3tbsp tomato puree
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste
2tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

For the couscous:
700ml vegetable stock
350g couscous
1 lemon, grated rind only
4tbsp olive oil
50g flaked almonds, lightly toasted
75g dried apricots, chopped
3tbsp golden raisins
3tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
to taste salt and freshly ground black pepper


To make the roast aubergines, place the chopped aubergines in one layer in an oven proof dish.

In a seperate bowl mix all the other ingredients together to make a marinade.

Pour over the aubergines and toss well until they are evenly coated.

Cover and allow to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 190C/Gas 5.

Place the aubergines into the hot oven, uncovered and roast them for 30 minutes or until soft.

While they are cooking you can make the chickpea stew, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the onions until soft and beginning to slightly brown. (Or like me you can make this the previous night.)

Add the minced garlic and the spices and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes and sugar and simmer gently until it has reduced a bit and starts to thicken.

Add the tomato puree, drained chickpeas and the bay leaf.

Bring back to a simmer and cook for five more minutes.

Season to taste and stir in the chopped coriander, remove the bay leaf.

To make the couscous, put the couscous in a pan and pour the hot vegetable stock over.

Bring to a boil, cover and remove from the heat.

Allow to stand for five minutes before fluffing it up with a fork.

Add the apricots, golden raisins, toasted almond slivers and chopped coriander and fold them in.

Layer all three components in a large serving bowl, starting with the couscous, followed by the chickpea stew and finally topping it with the roast aubergines.

Sausage and Potato Goulash

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The girls visit is slowly drawing to a close. I have to put them on a plane back to Germany on Thursday, where I'm sure their parents will be more than happy to see them after their ten day stay with me in England.

Tomorrow evening we're all invited over for dinner at my friend J's house, so I only had to come up with one more kid-friendly recipe to keep them happy. We already had the usual spaghetti bolognese, chicken and chips, pizza and tacos, so I tried to get some inspiration by looking through some of my cookbooks. When flicking through Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros, one of my favourite cookbooks, I came across this recipe for Sausage and Potato Goulash. I read it out to N and L and they both thought it sounded good, so off to the supermarket we went to buy the ingredients.



I halved the recipe when I made it, but below you find it as it's printed in the book. I also added some carrots and used vegetable stock instead of water for extra flavour. The result was a hearty, rustic meal that was enjoyed by all three of us. In fact the kids asked if we could have it again tomorrow. That's what I call a result.

Sausage and Potato Goulash (serves 8)

750gr good quality sausage, sliced into 1cm chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
30gr butter
1 large red onion, chopped finely
1-2 tsp sweet paprika
1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
250gr chopped tomatoes from a tin
a piece of cassia bark or 1/2 cinamon stick (I used the cinnamon stick)
1 bay leaf
500ml water
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the oil and butter over medium heat in a large heavy based pan and fry the onion for a few minutes.

Add the paprika, stir and fry for another minute, before adding the sausage.

Fry the sausage until it begins to brown in places.

Add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the parsley, stir, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it from sticking.

If the potatoes are not quite done after that time turn the heat off and continue to steam them by just leaving the lid on the pan until they are done.

Add the parsley just before serving.