I'm rubbish at keeping up to date but........

I am a bad human being, terrible in fact. I just never have time to update my blog - especially as at the moment I am juggling my full time day job, barmaiding a couple of evenings a week and helping my beloved best friend Charlotte plan her wedding.... life is busy busy busy and I kind of forgot my lovely little blog, which is a shame because I love to write, especially about food. And also opens me up to all kind of abuse from my favourite supplier Chris as we talk all the time about food but I never actually update!!
Trouble is at this moment of my life my time in the kitchen is limited to a couple of minutes here and there, usually to extract washing from the machine (my least favourite job in the world is unloading the washing machine, it fills me with dread). Cooking for me has been severely off the menu, which is sad, very sad, and I miss it and I miss how relaxed it makes me.... so my blog is going to change slightly, I will still be blogging my recipes but I'll also be blogging about the food I eat and where I'm eating it that way i wont be so constrained with what I can write on here......
So last night I finished work and went to see my gorgeous friend Kate and my little Godson Harrison and rather than making a huge dinner we went for the French classic Croque Monsieur, otherwise known as a posh cheese and ham toastie..... its so much more then a toastie though and when done properly they taste so amazing. Here we go:

Croque Monsieur (Posh Cheese & Ham Toastie)

I refuse to write out the list of ingredients for this, its simple stuff you can follow without trouble... so you take some bread and I hate to say it but it is the one occasion where brown bread is disallowed, it has to be white and you brush each side with melted butter and but under the grill so it can go golden brown. Whilst the bread is toasting you melt about a tablespoon of butter in a pan and add about a half a tablespoon of flour into it beating it until it forms a glossy paste. Gradually add some milk in (I warm the milk in the microwave first) until you have a nice smooth and thick bechemal sauce. Add in a small handful of grated cheese, I'm sure you should use the traditional Gruyere or Emmental but we just used some mature cheddar (MMmmmmm i LOVE cheese) and then your sauce is ready. Take your toasted bread put a thin layer of the bechemal on each piece of bread and layer some ham and then some grated cheese. Put the sandwich together and then spoon some of the sauce on top (if you like you can add a sprinkle of cheese as well but we didn't bother as we added a bit of cheese to the sauce) Then put back under the grill and let all the lovely cheese and sauce become gooey and warm. Then Voila! You have the bestest toasted sandwich ever.... .I can only apologise for the lack of a photo but its a  half hearted sorry because these have to be eaten straight away washed down with some very un-French cold beers!

A couple of tasty soups: 1 spicy, 1 slightly sweet

Its so very hot...... and when its so very hot I like to have food that is light and fresh but is also filling and of course holiday season is approaching so healthy is always a bonus. Both these recipes are also so easy I made both of them in about 30 minutes..... so here goes guys, enjoy!!!


Hot and Sour Prawn Soup

This soup is so fresh and fragrant, and its also surprisingly filling especially if you add noodles as I did.

You will need:

3tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
500ml stock - i used chicken
1tbsp light soy sauce
thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced
2 red chilli's thinly sliced - you can use less as this does pack quite a punch
3 spring onions thinly sliced
300g raw prawns
Coriander, fresh lime and rice noodles - optional

So very simply put the vinegar, sugar, stock, soy sauce, ginger, onions and chilli's in a saucepan and very gently bring it to simmering point, allow to cook at the simmer for about 3 minutes then add the prawns and a few rice noodles.
I served this over some steamed pak choi and i added a sprinkle of coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. And there you have it the most simple and fragrant soup - its truly scrumptious!

Pea and Pesto Soup

This soup first came to my attention when Nigella did a version of it and when looking through the Internet there are many different versions. This however is my version and its fresh sweetness is both light but comforting on a summers evening.

I know I usually do a list of what you need but I'm terrible and not great at measurements with this soup as I just tend to lob everything in...... so gently fry a onion in some olive oil and butter add a couple of bay leaves and a small pack of frozen peas (about 400g) mix them in with the onion and bay leaves so they are coated. Then cover with stock (chicken is best) as you would when you cook peas in water! Leave to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a bit then blend until smooth in your blender and then stir in a few tablespoons of pesto (fresh is best but to be honest stuff from a jar is fine). Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I have also seen some recipes that serve this with fish fingers!! Which may sound a bit retro but i reckon it would be lush!!!