Soda Bread

Unusual combination of soda bread recipes - There was no buttermilk at tesco but managed to find a recipe that used yoghurt so tried something based on that!

• 125g wholemeal flour
• 125g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8fl oz Natural Greek yoghurt (I used low fat but dont suppose it will matter....)
• 2 teaspoons soft brown sugar

Preheat oven to gas 8 or 230 deg and lightly grease a baking tray

Sieve and mix all the dry ingredients


Then add the yoghurt - Mix with a wooden spoon first then use your hands. Keep mixing until firm but not sticky - I needed to add a bit more flour at this point.

Knead for about a minute then make into a ball



Score a deep cross in top


Bake on gas 8 / 230 deg for 12 minutes then reduce to gas 6 or 200 deg for a further 15-20 minutes - should look good and sound hollow when tapped underneath when it's ready.

Leave to cool until you cant wait any longer then smother with butter/jam etc and enjoy!

French Onion Soup

This is a combination of every recipe I found for French Onion Soup and even if I do say so myself, is amazing ;)

• 6 large onions, sliced (I used the slicing blade in my food processor, quick and perfect!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2oz butter
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped or minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 pint beef stock (I use Knorr beef stockpot - the little jelly things, the better the stock the better the soup)
• 3 oxo cubes
• 300ml/10fl oz red wine
• 2 tablespoon cognac
• 4 tablespoon port
• Crusty bread (optional)
• Grated cheese (optional)

Fry the onions and garlic in the butter and olive oil in a large pan (I use 24cm round casserole pan 4.2l) on a low heat until soft.

Add the sugar, wine, cognac and port and make up the stock and add that.

Bring to boil, then simmer on a low heat as long as possible. I tend to do around 2-3hrs. Either serve at this point or continue for the proper french experience with cheesy crouton.

About 45mins before serving preheat oven at 180oC.

20mins before serving cut a piece of crusty loaf about 1/2 to 1 inch think for each serving of soup. Brush each side with olive oil and place on a tray in the oven.

After 20 mins, or until brown and crispy, remove bread from oven and chop into croutons.

Preheat the grill.

Serve the soup into bowls or bean pots, put the bread on top, and cover with the grated cheese. Place the bowls under the grill until the cheese goes brown and toasted. Enjoy :)

Mojito marinade

This was one of my last minute inventions but turned out really well as a light marinade for chicken kebabs ;)

• Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 10 mint leaves
• Juice of 1 limes
• Glug of olive oil
• Teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of dark rum (I know mojitos use white rum but the flavour was better with dark for this!)

Add all ingredients to jug and add blender. Once all blended together, put in microwave for 30 seconds to melt sugar. Leave to cool then use to marinade any type of meat or fish. Best with chicken. We did kebabs with peppers, onions and mushrooms and chicken.

Garden week of 25th July

Matured - more lettuce ;), courgettes both green and yellow globe, fennel, broccoli nearly there, kale, cabbage, mange tout, peas

First signs of - more tomatoes, squash, cucumbers

Sowed - spring onions, radish, salad leaves

Excited about the first broccoli coming through, looks really impressive. Picked at least 15 courgettes over the course of the week, they are blooming at the moment. Peas and mage tout going well, very sweet. Ate last of the fennel this week, must grow more next year, they were lovely!

Barbequed leg of lamb with thai green spices

From JamieOliver.com with adaptations ;)

For the marinade:

• 10 kaffir lime leaves (I didn't have any so I used a mixture of thai basil leaves and lime basil leaves)
• 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sticks of lemon grass trimmed and roughly chopped (ASDA Shaw do a new Thai spices bag near the fresh garlic which is ace for this, shame it doesn't have ginger in it tho)
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• bunch of fresh coriander leaves picked
• 2 green chilles, roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 2 limes

For the lamb:

• 1 x 2.2.5kg leg of lamb butterflied (went to Darryl's at top of High Crompton - perfect)
• salt and pepper
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
• 1 fresh red chille, deseeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 170oC/325oF.

Add to large pestle and mortar, or bowl/jug/foodprocessor for blending: lime leaves, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, most of coriander and green chilles. Make thick, fragrant green paste. Add olive oil and lime juice.

Pierce lamb all over with knife and then rub with marinade. Season lamb and place in a roasting tin, cover with clingfilm and leave for a while to marinade.

An hour before BBQing remove clingfilm and cover with tinfoil and place in oven for an hour.

After half and hour light BBQ. Have coals high on one side tapering down to the other giving a variety of heat across the grill.

After an hour take lamb out of oven and cut or break into a few big chunks so it's easier to grill.

Place lamb pieces on hot side of BBQ with the roasting tray and juices on the cooler side. Can add a little more lime juice to the tray if you wish at this point. Turn the meat regularly, basting it in juices from the tray as you go. Gives a nice, dark crust. Do the meat for about 10mins like this.

One meat done, remove from grill and place on a board and cover with foil to allow to rest. Add coconut milk to tray and let it bubble for a few mins to thicken.

Carve lamb into chunky slices, serve with the Thai sauce, sprinkles with chopped red chilli and the remaining coriander.

Chargrilled Garden Vegetables

• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1 large aubergine
• 1 red pepper
• 3 green courgettes
• 2 yellow globe courgettes
• 6 baby leeks

For the dressing

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Extras if want to make it more salady

• 1/2lb fresh mozzarella
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil

Mix the dressing ingredients together put in large closeable bag (eg. zip lock)

Prepare the veg as follows and add to the dressing bag. Cut fennel bulb in half long ways and add both halves. Slice aubergine into thick long slices about 2cm thick. Cut sides away from pepper so have 4 large flat pieces. Cut courgettes in half, then slice each half longways to get long slices about 0.5-1cm thick. Slice the globe courgettes into circles the same. Just add the leeks at the end.

Ensure all veg get coated in dressing, then can leave in fridge till ready to grill later.

When grilling the veg, keep the remaining dressing from the bag as you will use it later.

Start with the fennel first and place cut side down on the grill, over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible for 5-7 mins. Turn the fennel over and grill for another 3 mins, then move over indirect heat, with lid closed as much as possible, until crisp and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 12 to 15 mins. Remove from grill and leave to cool.

Place other veg on grill, and cook until chargrilled on each side but not overdone.

Cut away the hard triangular core of the fennel and then cut the remaining into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the other veg into similar sizes and place all in a large bowl. Pour dressing over and toss all pieces in dressing. Either serve like this or add the salad ingredients as well.

Adapted from Weber's Charcoal Grilling - the art of cooking with live fire by Jamie Purviance http://www.amazon.co.uk/Webers-Charcoal-Grilling-Cooking-Live/dp/0376020474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248604136&sr=8-1

Baked Courgettes

This one was sent to me by my mum and all credit goes to her :)

• Courgettes (doesn't matter how many)
• 1-2 garlic cloves per courgette
• Parmesan cheese (fresh, grated)
• Cheddar cheese (grated)

Set the oven at 180 - 200oC

Cut the courgettes up into 2-3cm chunks and put in plastic bad with whole unpeeled cloves of garlic.

Pour in glug of olive oil and shake around.

Tip out onto baking tray (put the garlic in the middle) and roast in oven for about 25mins or until the courgettes are going brown.

Squeeze the garlic, mix with the courgettes, squashing the courgettes as you do so.

Mix in some parmesan cheese (fresh) and put in an oven proof dish (can freeze at this point).

Sprinkle with grated cheddar and bake until brown.

Feta, Pea and Rocket Salad

Again as per usual, quantities are a bit vague ;)

• Feta cheese, crumbled (I used about 1/3 pkt)
• Fresh peas, podded (I used aroud 20 small pods)
• Mange tout, chopped up around 0.5cm wide (I used around 10 nice pods)
• Rocket (fresh if you have it)
• Balsamic vinegar

Place all ingredients in bag, add balasmic vinegar, close bag up and shake to coat. Place into bowl and serve.

Garden week of 18th July

Matured - lettuce, courgettes, mange tout, peas, kale

First sign of - tomatoes, broccoli

Sowed - red spring onions, radish, lettuce

Gave away lots of veg this week! Debating whether to take out every other row of my brassicas to give them more room. Bought seeds for next year for tomatillos, multi-coloured courgettes and a gorgeous pepper plant with black leaves and red fruit.

Beef in Red Wine

This is one of those recipes I can't give exact amounts for the ingredients, I just know what I put in ;) Have to thank my mum for this one :)

• Suitable casserole dish, like round cast-iron, with lid
• Brasing steak (enough to fill 1/4, for a six person casserole I use around 0.8kg, if it is for a dinner party, I would use better steak)
• Chopped Carrots (enough to fill 1/4, again for a six person casserole I would use around 6, cut however you choose, chunky is usually good)
• Chopped onions (enough to fill 1/4, for six people I use around 2 large again cut chunky), or have used chopped fennel as well
• Chopped mushrooms (enough to fill 1/4, for six people I used around 2/3 of a large punnet)
• 1 bottle red wine (for 6 people)
• 1.5l beef stock
• Salt & Pepper

Chop up all the ingredients, making them chunky. Add to casserole and mixed so they are evenly distributed throughout. Season with salt and pepper, then pour in red wine to around the 1/3 - 1/2 way point, then top up with the beef stock. Place in oven at 160oCand cook for as long as possible, usually 3 hours is good. Stir occassionally and when ready to serve, if juices are thin, use gravy granules to thicken up. Serve with either new potatoes and veg, or with rice.

Garden week of 12th July

Matured - more fennel ;), Little Gem, Rocket, Mixed Salad, Cabbage, Mange Tout, Kale, Carrots

First signs of - courgettes, squash, peas, strawberries, broccoli

Sowed - Pak Choi, Radish, Rocket, Mixed leaves, Sping Onion

Definately need a new planting plan next year, Brassicas and courgettes are taking over, lost swiss chard and some radish and in serious danger of losing swede and beetroot. All above ground veg will be on lower bed next year, all root veg on upper beds.

Sea Bass/Sea Bream Parcels with Fennel and Wine

Things to do with Fennel - Part Two

Per person:

• A filleted Sea Bass or Sea Bream
• Half a fennel bulb
• Fennel leaves
• Juice of half a lemon
• 175ml white wine
• garlic

Pull a long piece of tin foil off and lay it over a shallow dish (enough to give it shape to stop the liquid coming out, and so the dish is under the tinfoil in the middle). Fold a piece of tin foil into four so you get a rectangle 20cm x 15 cm and lay this in the centre again molding to the dish.

Finely slice the fennel and lay it out on top of the tinfoil rectangle. Sprinkle on some chopped garlic. Lay on one of the fish fillets, skin side down. Then lay a couple of fennel leaves across the fillet. Spinkle a tiny bit of lemon and wine across the fillet and lay the next fillet on top, skin side up. Lay a few fennel leaves on top of the fish and sprinkle with the remaining lemon and wine.

Take the two ends of the large piece of foil and join together above the fish and roll down. Then fold the two short ends in to make a sealed parcel. Place on a baking tray and cook in over for 15min at 170C. Serve with salad and potatoes or vegetables.

Greek Lamb and Tomato Casserole with Fennel served with Mediterranean Vegetables

Things to do with Fennel Part One......

From the TimesOnline, with my additions in italics

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 45 min

• 4 large meaty lamb shoulder chops or steaks
• 2tbsp flour
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 2tbsp ouzo, pernod, ricard or pastis
• 2 medium onions
• 2 large fennel bulbs
• 1tbsp fresh (I used normal and hot & spicy) and 1tbsp dried oregano or marjoram leaves
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 jar ASDA stir in sauce tomato and olives
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• For the vegetables - shallots, courgettes, sweet potato, new potato, peppers, garlic cloves, parsnips, olive oil, balasmic vinegar and honey with lemon

Spread chops/steaks out on plate, season with salt and pepper and dust both side with flour. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a Le Creuset-type cast iron casserole dish and fry chops/steals briefly over a medium heat, turning after a couple of minutes. Turn up the heat, pour over alcohol and let it bubble up and evaporate. Transfer the chops and their syrupy juices to a plate.

Meanwhile, keeping separate piles, peel, halve and finely slice the onions. Trim the fennel, halve through the root and slice across the bulb. Add the remaining oil to the dish, reduce the heat to medium low and add the onions. Cook, stirring a couple of times, for about 10mins until beginning to soften but not colour, then add the fennel. Season with salt and pepper, cover the dish with a lid and leave to sweat, stirring once or twice, for a further 10 mins. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/gas mark 4.

Bury the chops in the onions and fennel, squeeze over the lemon juice and shower with the oregano. Pour the tomatoes and the stir in sauce over the top, season again and replace the lid. Cook in the oven for 30mins or until the lamb is tender. Serve and enjoy!

Garden week of 5th July

Matured - Little Gen Lettuce, Spring Onions, Fennel

First sign of - peas, mange tout, strawberries, courgettes

Learning that the brassicas and courgettes need to be spaced out a little bit more, getting a little too unruly out there now. Looks like the cabbage might need to come out soon too!

Garden week of 28th June

Matured - Pak Choi, Cos Lettuce, Radishes, Mixed leaved lettuce

Lots of stir fries and salads, yum :)