Grandma's root vegetable mash, cabbage and broccoli

Revenge of the veg box... 1 swede, 3 carrots, loads of cabbage and broccoli... Well, it was wholesome! Grandma's root veg mash is the best bit... And it's not mash at all. My grandma actually wasn't much of a cook, though she was quite a decent baker, and baked every Monday for years... Her fairy cakes were always great. She did 2 other noteworthy dishes... Hotpot every Saturday, which we used to look forward to with relish every visit, and carrots.... Turned out with every roast dinner... Not mashed but slashed through with a sharp knife with plenty of butter, until they were in tiny tiny pieces. Always delicious. So I boiled the swede and carrots, and did an homage to grandma with a sharp knife, butter and loads of black pepper.... And just steamed the cabbage and broccoli. If I ate this for 2 weeks I'm sure it would prompt some weight loss, even with the butter!

Lobster macaroni and cheese

Get me!  Lobster!  Well, frozen lobster - so thought I would give it a go, but not in a grilled delicious fresh kind of a way...  and had heard of this comfort and luxury combination, so thought I'd give it my own twist.  It was very easy (after initial shell hammering bit), and very tasty.

1 lobster, frozen (in this case)
Macaroni (or other short pasta)
green beens
Handful spinach
1/2 red chili
1 clove garlic, crushed
about an inch cubed each of ... cheddar, cheshire and parmesan, grated
5 tbsp natural yogurt

Heat oven to 180

1.  Thaw lobster (which may, or may not have been left by previous owners of new house!  who left it here by accident, but told me about it after I had found it... no, they didn't want it back they said I should keep it as a gift :) )
2.  Extract meat from tails and claws of the lobster.  Remove "vein" from tail meat and chop into bit sized pieces, carefully picking out bits of shattered shell (you could do something clever with the shells and oil and stuff, but I didn't today).
3.  Bring pan of water to the boil, when boiling chuck in pasta.
4.  After 2-3 minutes chuck in chopped beans.
5.  When pasta is nearly cooked (10 mins boiling, when it says 11)  drain.
6.  Chick spinach into pasta and beans stir and leave to wilt.
7.  Meanwhile grate all cheeses, add crushed garlic and finely chopped chili - stir together with yogurt - season with black pepper (and a scrape of nutmeg if you fancy).
8.  Mix cheese sauce, pasta and veg and lobster bits together - put into oven proof dish, bake in oven for 30 mins (ish)

You could have topped the dish with more cheese;  breadcrumbs and cheese; herby garlicky breadcrumbs etc .. delish whatever.

The resulting dish was lovely.  Creamy, despite ridiculously easy method of making "cheese sauce", a little bit tangy through using yogurt instead of cream/ wine to make a white sauce from a bechamel.

Incredibly easy, but felt like a proper treat.

Tuna pasta salad

Had a lovely visit with some mates today, who were looking for easy, quick but tasty dinners - we found a few - and I chucked this together when I got home, so I thought I'd add it here too.  Took about 13 minutes, start to finish.

Pasta - I used shells
green beans
celery
olives
tomato gherkins
1 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tbsp natural yogurt
1 tin tuna in spring water

1.  Chuck pasta into plenty of boiling water, after a couple of minutes add chopped green beans.
2.  Chop celery, tomato, black olives and gherkins (could also add any/all cucumber, spring onions, peppers, bean sprouts, shredded lettuce, radish...)
3.  Add tuna (drained), drain cooked pasta a beans, stir in with mayonnaise and yogurt (squeeze of lemon juice if you have any)

Scoff.  Simples.

fruity juice

Alright, lots of juices, give me a name for this one...

1 tangerine
1 lemon
1 orange
1 grapefruit
1 pear
1 apple

Juiced, ... cleaned juicer,  drank ... delish - just enough sharpness from the lemon and grapefruit to give a lovely tang.

Chickpea and vegetable curry with brown rice

Cook rice in your normal way.  I put it in a pot, cover it with water to an inch above the level of than the rice, and bring it to the boil ... then put it in a medium oven (150ish) to soak up the water.

Curry:-

olive oil
1 leek
1 courgette
Big handful of mushrooms
2 potatoes
garlic
curry spices (I used a gosht mix)
4 tomatoes
water, cup or so
tin of chickpeas
big handful of spinach
3 tbsp natural yoghurt

1.  Sweat chopped leek (or onion) in olive (or other light falvoured) oil until a little soft.
2.  Add chopped courgette, mushroom, potatoes and tomatoes, stir, add crushed garlic and spice mix, stir again.
3.  When everything is mixed add a cup or so of water, so that the veg are boiling, rather than frying.
4.  After 10 minutes add tin of chickpeas and stir in, cover and simmer.
5.  Simmer for about 15 minutes, chuck spinach on the top, put the lid back on and allow to wilt for a minute or so, then stir in.
6.  Turn the heat off for about 5 minutes, spinach will be wilted in, and stir in natural yogurt. **
7.  Rice should be done, serve, scoff.

** I didn't leave mine quite long enough, it was a bit hot, that's why it's just about to curdle, you can help prevent this by adding a spoonful of double cream at the same time.

Chicken and chorizo paella

Tired and emotional today. Without any liquid assistance I stress, just life, stresses and pressures. So, when I got home at 7 ish -I wanted something which wouldn't take too long, BUT was comforting, nutritious and had enough flavour to beat .. Steam it and eat it... So, remembering I had chorizo, and a chicken breast... Da dah! Chicken and. Chorizo paella. I have had a substantial bowlful, and I fully expect to pack at least 3 portions into pots for lunches...

Olive oil
I onion, chopped
2 inches chorizo, skinned & chopped
Celery .. 1 inch of bunch chopped, or 2 stalks, chopped
Red pepper chopped
2cloves garlic, crushed
1 chicken breast, in bite sized pieces
Rice -I used arborio.. But, whatever suits you
Stock, chicken in my case
Green beans
Mushrooms
Tin chopped tomatoes
Black olives
More water
Seasoning & chili flakes, to suit


Chuck onion and chorizo into big frying pan/Arellano pan/ shallow sauce pan.. And sautéed, add celery, stir. When chorizo starts releasing oil, keep heat up and start adding other ingredients. Stir so nothing burns. When nice and hot, chuck in chicken bits, and stir so they start coking on the outside, a tiny bit of colour is what you are looking for. Then chuck in rice, and stir until every grain has a tiny covering of yummy coloured oil. Chuck in stock, and other veg. Chuck in a little bit more than you think, stir.. Make sure nothing s sticking and keep the heat up. After a few mins stir again, add tin of chopped tomatoes, good sprinkle of chili flakes, and sliced black olives (if you like them). Stir, simmer. Don't fuss with it... Let it simmer over a low ish heat.. OK, stir gently, using spatula or similar to ease bits off the bottom of the pan which are in danger of sticking, otherwise try to leave it alone. When rice is done.. About 20 mins.. Taste it... And it's still a bit saucy turn heat off, and let it suck up juices for 5 minutes. Scoff. Obviously fresh parsley and zest of lemon would be a wonderful livened at the end.. But, come on.. It's a school night!

Chicken hotpot

What do you call it when you chop stuff up and cook it in a pan, and it includes potatoes... HOTPOT... well that;s my excuse for pretending this is a recipe!

olive oil
1 leek
Celery
Carrots
garlic
green beans
chicken breast
water
stock cube
mushrooms
potatoes
brocolli
Chili flakes, pinch of herbs
salt and pepper

Veg box due tomorrow - chicken breast in the fridge.  Chop, saute briefly "hard" veg - ie. leek, celery and carrot in olive oil, add bite sized chunks of chicken, saute again briefly until edges of chicken catch, chuck in cruched garlic and stir together.  Add chopped green beans, potato and mushrooms.  Add stock, stir and simmer, the add brocolli.  Simmer again, adding herbs and pinch of chili flakes.  When cooked, scoff.

what's in the fridge? pasta

Literally... home latish, hungry, and not wanting rubbish - what was in the fridge?  Well, leek, mushrooms, broccoli, blue cheese and natural yogurt... and a bit of ham.  So, cooked some pasta, started sauce predictable with leek in olive oil, then added mushrooms until leek a bit soft... then garlic, then broccoli florets... a cup of water to help it steam down.  After about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally added chopped ham and crumbled blue cheese.  Stirred in until "saucy".  Turned down.  When penne was cooked, drained and mixed in with sauce and 2 big spoons of natural yogurt.  Black pepper - scoff.  I had seconds - and there's lunch in a box in the fridge.  :)

Kitchen Fairies - upped sticks and moved

Chickpea curry

Cheap, cheerful, and everything in - no shopping required.  The veg is what I used - but could have been pretty much anything.

1 onion
tbsp olive oil
1 carrot
1 red pepper
handful of green beans
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp balti paste
2 potatoes
handful mushrooms
tin tomatoes
tin chickpeas
natural yogurt


1.  Chop onion and saute in oil.
2.  Add chopped carrot, red pepper and green beans, turn over in the oil.
3.  Add crushed garlic, 2 chopped tomatoes and curry paste, chuck in mushrooms and potatoes, turn over again for a couple of minutes.
4.  Add a tin of tomatoes, and a tin of water.
5.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, until veg are soft.  Taste, season...
6.  Drain and rinse chickpeas, chuck into curry, simmer again for a few minutes, add more water if it's drying out.
7.  Take off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes - chuck in some naatural yogurt.
8. Scoff, with rice.

Enough left for lots of work dinners... anyone want some?