Sandwich Loaf.........{Its National Picnic Week}

 

It's national picnic week - I absolutely love enjoying food al fresco and picnics are just the perfect way to do this. One of my favourite things to make for picnics is my Sandwich loaf, because I love me a sandwich! This loaf is a kind of sandwich but looks much fancier. Transporting it whole is very easy and you can just cut it in slices or quarters when you get to your destination. Feel free to play around with the fillings as well; I’ve made one previous ones with tuna, rocket, hard boiled eggs and anchovies which was pretty lush....
 

  

Picnic Sandwich Loaf

1 cottage loaf, size of you choice
Olive oil
6 slices Parma ham
15 slices salami milano
5 tomatoes, sliced
2 balls mozzarella, sliced
Basil leaves
1 aubergine sliced and then grilled and allowed to cool
1 courgette, sliced, then grilled and allowed to cool
75g, sundried tomatoes

Slice the top of the bread and then scoop out the inside of the bread. Brush the insides with olive oil and leave uncovered overnight. Take your other ingredients and then layer them inside the bread. My layers went as such: Parma ham; tomatoes; basil; mozzarella; aubergine; salami; courgette; sundried tomatoes; mozzarella; tomatoes; basil; and finally more salami. Make sure you press down every time you finish a layer so you are packing it down firmly. Once you have filled your loaf, put the top back on and cover the whole thing in foil and then weigh the top down (a tin of duck fat works well here!). You want to leave it for at least 2 hours but the longer the better. When you are ready, either slice or cut into quarters and serve.

 

This recipe can be found in my recipe pages in the July/August edition of Families First

Linking up with Honest Mum for #tastytuesdays

Hello Friday

Here comes the weekend. My oh my April is nearly over and summer seems to be making an appearance here in the UK - Please stay Summer! So it's the weekend and here we go....

 

Less than two weeks until we go to Italy, tres excited! We are staying with my friends out there and I can't wait to show H one of my most favourite places on earth

Speaking of holidays you know you are a food blogger when your friend sends you descriptions of recipes when he's halfway across the world. It ends up in you making a rather awesome Thai salad though. Try it - so fresh, so healthy

 

H is away this weekend which means I am having some sister time, some friend time, some in-law time and some quiet time to myself. I love spending time by myself, It restores me and just makes me happy.

Just like I talked about reading a lot of articles on relationships last week, I have also been reading a lot about the choice on not having children. It's something I think about a lot. Maybe one day I'll do a post about it. When you love children as much as I do and are good with children like I am I think its really easy for people to assume that you want children of your own. I'm totally undecided on the matter but articles like this, this and this make me think. Oh, and to all you Mama's out there trust me I have so much respect and your job is an awesome one I am in no way anti motherhood, I just think it's good to look at both viewpoints and to acknowledge it can be a choice.


I've finished reading The Ice Twins by  S. K. Tremayne which was pretty blah and had a rubbish ending. I'm now on to The Good Girl by Mary Kubica which I'm really enjoying so far!

 

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with the girls at The Farmers Wife and September Farm for 

When your BBF goes on a holiday......{Thai Seafood Salad}

 

 

So my wonderful bestie Paul decided to go and spend a month in Laos, lucky thing! Although I missed him desperately, I loved that every few days he managed to find the time to send me pictures such as these;

 

 

 

Hard life huh?! He also sent me a recipe - the boy knows me too well! He proclaimed it the best salad he had ever eaten so I had to give it a go myself - it was delicious with lovely fresh flavours which are perfect for the summer. I changed a few things, his version had mint leaves instead of coriander and the shallots were in the salad not in the dressing, but hey recipes are meant to be played around with. How lucky I am that even when half way across the world lovely Paul things of me and this little blog of mine! And whilst I love the photos and food stories and the fact he is having amazing experiences I am so very pleased that he is home safe and sound, he has been missed.

 

 

 

 

 

Paul's Thai style Seafood Salad

 

 

salad:
 

2 gem lettuces, roughly chopped 

small bunch of coriander, chopped

3 spring onions, sliced

200g cooked basmati rice

1 dsp coconut oil

3 squid, cut into rings

10 unpeeled raw prawns (shell on)

dressing:
 

4tbsp fish sauce

1 shallot, very finely sliced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 1/2 lemons (or limes), juice of

1 dsp light brown sugar

 

 

put all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and mix together. warm coconut oil and toast the rice - you want to be scraping it off the pan so it looks crusty and it is more flaky then rice grains - don't be scared you need to just stand by the pan and keep on scraping and stirring. remove from pan and set aside. in the same pan cook the seafood, this takes no time at all about 5 mins for the prawns and 3 mins for the squid. take the salad vegetables and herbs and toss in a large bowl with 1/2 the dressing. and the toasted rice. divide the salad in two bowls and top with the seafood and the remaining dressing. Eat outside, dreaming of warmer climates and beautiful beaches!

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Miriam at Farm girl

For the many times we are time poor.............{enchilada bake}

Everyone needs a few "cheat meals" up their sleeve - you know the ones where you grab a few ingredients from jars and packets and make some thing that's pretty tasty and easy. This is one of those meals. I'm not trying to claim its the most natural and homemade meal in the world but it is a damn tasty dinner and its just too easy to make! And by using no bread and brown rice its healthier than your usual enchiladas. I've made this both with the chicken and chorizo but it also tastes just as good without. You can also substitute the rice for quinona as the original recipe that I got the inspiration for this dish from!

Enchilada Bake

(inspiration for this dish came from Damn Delcious)

2 chicken breasts (optional)
50g chorizo (optional)
1/2 tsp chili powder 
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 onion, diced 
250g cooked brown rice
200g (1 tin) black beans 
260g (1 tin) sweetcorn 
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped 
1 jar enchilada sauce (I use Discovery)
half jar green (or red) jalapenos
150g Grated cheese, i use a mixture of cheddar and hard mozzarella 

If using chicken and chorizo cook that off and remove from the pan. Add the onions with the spices and cook off in a little olive oil, when soft add in the chorizo and chicken if using, brown rice, jalapenos, beans, sweetcorn and half the coriander, half the cheese and the sauce. mix it all together and then top with remaining cheese. Place in oven for around 20-30 mins until hot all the way through and cheese melted. Serve with remaining coriander, avocado and tomatoes. 

Linking up with Vicky at Honest Mum

Lurve Quiz....... {Blogmopolitan Quiz}

We don't really do Valentines Day in our relationship - a really common theme with people my age in the UK!! I honestly don't really know anyone who buys into it.... blogging opens my eyes to how much of a big deal it is in America, and hey that's cool, Love's a great thing! 

Linking up with Erin because I'm nosey and i love quizzes! Can't wait to see everyone's responses!

Valentines Day Main Course........ { Boeuf Bourguignon}

 

No I haven't gone all unhealthy on you but if ever there was a time to indulge in some rich food then cooking your main for Valentines Day would be it. This is a favourite of mine that I developed over the years, it was also the first recipe I did for my magazine food column.  It's a winner and bound to make your beloved fall even more madly in love with you, food does that don't you know?! This does require some time to cook but once you’ve spent a little time on prepping you can just leave this to bubble gently on the stove whilst you get on with more important things...

 

 Boeuf Bourguignon

1kg chuck or shin of beef cut into large pieces – this is important so it doesn’t break down in the cooking process
20 Shallots, peeled
30 button mushrooms – I used chestnut button mushrooms
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
150g streaky bacon, cut into short strips
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
Bottle of red wine – French is best here; a Burgundy works well but I have also made it with a Merlot
300 – 400ml beef stock, add 300ml to start and then add more if you need to

firstly, the night before you need to marinate the beef in the wine and herbs (not the garlic) and use the marinade as the cooking liquor - this will add a depth of flavour to the dish. toss the beef in a little seasoned flour and then colour the meat in a little oil and butter – make sure you use a heavy based casserole dish or pan.  remove the beef and then add the shallots and cook for around 5 minutes, until they go slightly golden, then add the mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes. remove them from the pan and set aside. add a little more oil to the pan if needed and add in the onion and bacon. once they have browned slightly add the beef to the pan along with the garlic, stock and the wine and herbs. season and then simmer on a very low heat for around 1 ½ hrs – alternatively, you could pop it in the oven at around 140°C for the same amount of time. add the shallots and mushrooms and cook for a further 30 minutes. i served this with my homemade dauphinoise potatoes and baby carrots which worked well. you could actually make the whole dish the day before and just heat it up for 30 minutes or so before you need it – a bourguignon that has mellowed overnight is a tasty dish indeed! 

 

Linking up with the lovely Miriam for the "Lets Grow Together" series - Welcome to my blog!

Currently........

{Source}

Firstly big thanks to Pinky! for the inspiration for this post! I had no idea what to write about today and saw her "currently" post so figured I would do one of the same - check out her post here

Reading - I've just finished Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking. I downloaded it to my Kindle after seeing the wonderful British film The Theory of Everything. Both Felcity and Eddie deserve Oscars for their performances they were great!  I'm now starting on Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert, because I loved Eat Pray Love and lets face it I can be a bit of a marriage sceptic. All a bit of a departure from my usual fiction but I'm enjoying them! 

  

Buying - A couple of David Bowie CD's for H - Nothing Has Changed and The Next Day. Also the ingredients for a Lemon poppy seed cake that I have been developing a recipe for.  

Hating - going running in the cold but feeling very proud that I am sticking with it!

Wanting - to be back in the cosy cottage in Norfolk with the roaring fire.... along weekend is never long enough! But very grateful that we have the opportunity to return in the summer!

Hoping - to continue to build on my running and that soon i'll be making 5k runs look like childs play (we can dream can't we)

Listening - BBC Radio Two at my desk at work. And pretty soon i'll be listening to some David Bowie methinks!

Watching - Spiral - a french police drama that I have recently become obsessed with, since I've started on season 5 I think I'm going to have to purchase the previous seasons on box set. Also Wolf Hall mainly because Damien Lewis and Mark Rylance are two of the finest British actors on TV at the moment and also because since I studied Tudor history at school it has been one of my favorite periods to learn more about. 

Devouring - after a weekend off (having a lovely break in Norfolk) I am now back to devouring vegetables and protein with very little carbs or dairy!

Drinking - All so water....so.much.water.

Loving - my Papermate Flair pens and Pentel sign pens - stationary porn and all that! And my new running trainers - thanks H!

Feeling - a little tired, content and better for having eaten better the last couple of days! Cheese is my love but not my friend!

Wishing - for a spiralizer! I feel like I need one in my life *HINT*

Linking up with the lovely Miriam for the "Lets Grow Together" series - Welcome to my blog!

healthy Weekday Meal #4 ............{Halloumi with cous cous and kale}

A hit is how I describe this dish. Went down very well in our household and H appreciated the extra protein in the form of chorizo in his version. I didn't miss the chorizo and found this dish really nice and filling. Its  very quick and easy to make which makes it perfect for an evening meal after a long day at work and you could also substitute the couscous for quinona if you so wish, it works just as well.  

Halloumi with Cous Cous and Kale

block of halloumi cut into slices 

around 50g of chorizo, sliced  *OPTIONAL*

50g couscous, made according to instructions (i make mine with stock)

good few handfuls kale, as much as you like!

mustard vinaigrette - i make mine - few glugs of OO, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 clove garlic chopped, 1 tbsp mustard (Dijon or wholegrain) a squeeze of lemon juice and some S&P all shaken up together. but use shop bought if you want 

steam your kale for just a few minutes until the leaves have gone slightly darker but it's not soggy. drain and let cool down slightly. take a pan, if you are cooking the chorizo add them to the pan and cook off for a 5 or so minutes then remove them from the pan. add in the halloumi and then cook that, turning occasionally - if you have used the chorizo then it will just cook in the oils released if not add a tiny bit of oil to the pan. toss the kale, cous cous and a bit of dressing together and place in pan. add the halloumi and chorizo to the top and serve. 

Linking up with Vicky at Honest Mum

I am NOT a natural runner...........{week one couch to 5K}



What a great opening to a blog post! Source:here

One of my "owning my 2015" goals was to run a 5k and another was to loose weight. I am on a pretty strict diet which I actually seem to be sticking with and so far I've lost 8lbs. I've been going to yoga classes to help with toning and I've been swimming once a week. I have also been running....GASP. Anyone who knows me will know that this is a shocker because I am not a natural runner. Oh no I am not. All those ladies you see jogging along in cute outfits and sweatbands, barely breaking a sweat? Well I'm not that lady, I'm the one bright red and panting away after a couple of steps. I'm not sure I'll ever master the graceful running thing, mainly because,you know, I'm trying desperately hard to remember to breath! But lovely readers at least I'm running.  

Source: iTunes

This is not a sponsored post at all but I could not to it without my Change for Life couch to 5k app. I've long been a fan of the Change for Life scheme (God bless our NHS) and the way it promotes a healthy lifestyle that can be adapted by the whole family, and this app is just one of the great initiatives they have. I just love the encouragement the lovely lady gives you (it's nice to read her story too) and the way it gives you gentle nudges but doesn't patronise you. Plus I can listen to my music whilst I run as well. Tracking my progress is the only thing that keeps me going and this app suits me perfectly.

I have done my three runs this week and I am actually quite surprised at how enjoyable and not too tricky I found them. two of my runs I have done with my fitness buddies Danielle and Rhiannon at the park and yesterday I did my first run by myself. It was also my first run on the pavement (sidewalk) and I did feel the difference. I did find that I pushed myself a bit harder by myself (I ended up jogging an extra 5 minutes) and I quite liked being alone with my thoughts BUT running with friends is great motivation.

SO my first week was surprisingly enjoyable - wish me luck for week 2!

Any of you runners? Any tips you can give me? Especially for the aches the next day?

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Miriam at Farm girl

Healthy Weekday Meal #2........{sweet potato crust quiche}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boyfriend loves quiche but this girlfriend cannot deal with pastry at the moment. The compromise is this rather delicious quiche that tastes pretty awesome. Mine isn't perfect as whilst cooking some of the sweet potato seemed to float up a bit, but hey, it tastes better then a normal quiche in both of our opinion. We can class this one as a winner methinks.

 

Play around with the fillings; I chose the ones I did because I had things to use up in the cupboard

 

 

Quiche with a Sweet Potato Crust

1 sweet potato, very thinly sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 courgette, diced
2 large mushrooms, diced
couple of handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
5 eggs, beaten
splash semi-skimmed milk
small amount of strong cheddar, grated

lightly grease a pie dish with olive oil, layer the bottom and side with the slices of sweet potato. bake in oven at a moderate heat for around 20 minutes. sauté the shallot, courgette and mushrooms in a pan with a little butter (or whatever cooking oil you want) and set aside. beat the eggs with the milk and then add in the veg along with the chopped spinach. pour over the sweet potato crust. bake in the oven for around 40mins until its cooked through. I served this with a tomato salad (tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and S&P)


Linking up with Vicky at Honest Mum
 

It's Friday and here are my 5 things....

One 

I have purchased all of my Christmas presents - which must be a record for me. Plus last weekend H got most of his which is surely a record for him! So I feel smug. Then I stop feeling smug when I look at the mountains of presents I have to wrap. I have a bit of a tradition whereby I stick on Love Actually, pour myself a glass of wine and spend the evening wrapping up my gifts. I try and keep it as peaceful and as calm as possible!

Two

I have also ordered the Christmas meat - a ham and a turkey. I always want to try goose but then I worry that if people didn't like it then Christmas dinner would be ruined.  I have to confess I don't cook the feast itself - my brother takes on that challenge and he is AWESOME at it.... I will be making these for the starter / canape - perfect with a glass of champagne! 

Three

Check out these vibrant colours! I went a bit Mexican this week and shared some fresh and easy recipes for fish tacos and courgette quesadillas - check them out! Anyone else created something ace in their kitchens this week?

Four

(Not on the High Street)

I've been thinking about my Christmas outfit this year and is it a bit odd that this is by far my favourite thing I've come across. And its for kids. Man, I love petticoats and I love stripes! Even the pigtails I feel are inspired!

Five 

(New York Times)

We are going to my friend Lulabelle's for a Christmas party on Saturday and I am taking ingredients for a Christmas Cocktail - the one I have linked to uses pomegranate but I will make it with cranberry juice. 

1 part cranberry to 2 parts prosecco with a squeeze of lime. 

I'll also make some ginger fizzes:

piece of stem ginger, 1 tsp stem ginger syrup topped up with prosecco

Christmas is well and truly on its way! 

So many Friday link ups! Happy to be linking up with these lovely ladies!

Blogtober Day 30: Facts about me

I love rain and thunderstorms and puddles, I like to be cold so living in the UK makes perfect sense for me


I am the worlds silliest and craziest dancer i look really mad but I love it and I love making people laugh when I'm dancing

My siblings are my world and I would honestly do anything for them, I love them so much and our bond is so special 

There is a  19 years and 7 month age gap between me and my love

 I am pretty photogenic but also maybe just a little bit vain

I tell my sister jenni everything even though i probably shouldn't- I've probably put her of men for life 

I still feel like a completely geeky, gawky, clumsy young girl 


I always have tomato ketchup sachets and a tube of english mustard in my handbag 


Recently I became a published food writer which was a dream come true. In the future I would like this to be my full time career 

 I am incredibly loyal and would do anything for my friends and family, even if I haven't spoken to you in ages I would drop anything to help a friend out 

One of my greatest achievements was getting my first and no matter what people say no one can take that away from me 

 Although i have been really hurt I would never change a second of any of the experiences I've had in life- they have made me who I am, be that a good or bad thing 

 I have a few close friends- they know who they are and without them i would be lost 

I love champagne and Prosecco they are my favourite thing ever 

I love cooking, I love going out for meals, I love flavours, I love menus, I love food full stop 

I am incredibly honest and very open about things, I like to think that this is why I'm quite good at giving advice 

I always have my phone on silent even though it drives my friends and H batty 

Sometimes I get so happy and excited about life I really want to walk along the streets dancing and singing 

I talk to myself ALL THE TIME its really embarrassing but Its one of the reasons I'm quirky

When I was younger I used to always look for drama in life, now I actively don't- life's complicated enough!

A Cheesecake of the chocolate variety......... {Chocolate Cheesecake}

Fact # 1 - I am not great at making puddings look pretty

Fact # 2 - I do make great tasting puddings, so yes, there's that

I made this for a friend's dinner party we went to at the weekend. I always offer to do dessert if I am going to a dinner party. Or the starter. An I always take a bottle or two of wine and some flowers / chocolates for the host. Because it's not easy to host dinner parties but they are such wonderful occasions. I add the baileys because it tastes good but you can leave it out if so wish. The inspiration for this recipe came  from Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy 

Chocolate Cheesecake 

450g chocolate digestives or oreo cookies, crushed 

75g butter, melted 

800g cream cheese 

5 TBSP baileys liqueur 

2 TBSP icing sugar

500g milk chocolate 

100g white chocolate 

vegetable oil 

take the crushed biscuits and the melted butter and combine in a bowl. press the mixture in greased spring form tin, cover and place in fridge for half an hour. combine the icing sugar, cream cheese and baileys in a bowl. melt 350g of the chocolate in a bowl (a little vegetable oil helps) and spoonful by spoonful add the cream cheese mixture in the melted chocolate until combined and you have a silky smooth chocolate mixture. pour on top of your biscuit base, level off and then refrigerate for a further hour or so. melt the remaining milk chocolate and white chocolate (separately) and spread the milk chocolate on top of the cheesecake. take the white chocolate and pipe thin lines on to the cheese cake and use a cocktail stick to drag the pattern - this is where I struggle to make things look pretty, but who cares, everyone loved the taste! 

Today I'm linking up with Fitness Blondie - I know this isn't healthy but it's great as a treat! Happy Hump Day!

All in one ....... {Roasted Spanish Chicken}

Autumn is the time of year when you want lovely filling, comforting food - sticky ribs, stews, roasts but with both H an I working long hours at our jobs we don't really have a lot of time to prepare that sort of thing. Autumn really does become the season of food that can be cooked in one pot or on one tray and if I'm honest that's the kind of cooking I like best.

My old housemate Paul taught me how to make this dish and I think he got it from the lovely Nigella, I've just tweaked it a bit. We always tend to have chorizo in the fridge and chicken in the freezer so its a go to dish of mine. It's very easy to prepare and it tastes sensational - the chicken and chorizo juices blending together with the orange zest and garlic. Perfect with a large glass of red and the sound of rain.

Spanish Chicken 

5 chicken thighs

150g chorizo, cut into rounds the thickness of a pound coin

8 shallots, peeled and cut in half

250g new potatoes, I used apache as I love the colour and they are perfect for roasting

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled 

zest of one orange 

bay leaf

olive oil

S&P

take the chorizo, shallots, potatoes and garlic and tumble into a roasting dish. add a TBSP of olive oil and mix together until coated. Place the chicken on top and drizzle with oil and season with S&P. Sprinkle half the zest over the chicken and other ingredients. Cook on high for 20 minutes. Take the dish out and add rest of the zest and then put the dish back in the oven at a lower heat and cook for a remaining 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.  

Linking up with Honest Mum 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with Eat Drink and Be Mary and Full Time Mama