Have I mentioned before that I  really really really love dips?   Looking back at my dippy posts  it seems that I  usually serve them with crudities, but sometimes a bit of non veggie crunch and crispiness is required.      Instead of from a packet and laden with fat and all manner of nasties, these tortilla chips are made from tortilla wraps which I usually have in the freezer.

Simply snip the tortilla wraps into chip sized triangles, I find one wrap per person is about right.   Arrange on a baking tray or pizza stone, brush with a little olive oil (You could use an oil sprayer here) and sprinkle with pepper, salt and your choice of seasoning; cumin, chilli, harissa or celery salt would all work well.     Bake for about 10 minutes in a hot oven (GM7, 220C, 425F) until crisp and golden.     Serve and dip to your heart’s content!

How simple is that?

This summer I have been getting an iceberg lettuce every week in my co-op box and frankly I am a little bored of them.   Nothing conjures up an image of an 1970’s salad more than an iceberg.     Add some pale watery tomatoes, celery and chunks of cucumber and a good dollop of salad cream and you have something straight out of the canteen of my 1970’s primary school in the middle of Kent.

I recently read an article by Mark Bittman on The Charms of the Loser Lettuces.  I was struck by a comment on one of the recipes, which pointed out that if icebergs were not so long lasting and virtually indestructible, they would not be so loved by supermarket buyers and thus available so cheaply and easily.  The rare and scare (and expensive?) iceberg would probably popular with certain groups of foodies.   I hope that my tastebuds are not solely governed by rarity value and cost, but I am sure that there are some foods out there that are more popular because of their rarity rather than the merits of their flavour alone.

But back to the humble iceberg, its hardiness and crispness make it ideal to cook, it softens, but retains some shape and texture not turning to mush.    In fact it actually tastes pretty darned good – I would even venture to say it is delicious!   It is buttery, nutty and subtly bitter.  Add to that almost fat free, low calorie,  cheap, easy to prepare (using only one pot)  and satisfying and I have a winner.        For the more ravenous, serve it as a starter – I would even produce this at a dinner party.

This is another contribution to my series of easy, economical and healthy recipes of what to do with the contents of the co-op “boxes” for the Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project run by Sustain – also part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery.

Braised Iceberg Lettuce (Serves 4)

1 Iceberg lettuce
Glug olive oil
1/2 mug vegetable stock (I used Marigold)
Handful frozen peas
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Soy Sauce (to taste)

Cut the lettuce into quarters (through the stem so each segment stays together).  Add the oil to a casserole dish and fry the lettuce on all sides until it is starting to turn brown.   Add about 1.5cm / 1/2″ stock to the dish, put the lid on and turn the heat right down.   Simmer for about 15 mins, add the frozen peas, (here I left the lid ajar to concentrate the juices) and cook for a further 5 minutes.    Season with salt and pepper and serve.

This recipe is also delicious with a dash of soy sauce.     For a more substantial dish use more peas or serve with some crusty bread.    I imagine that you could also steam a piece of fish over the lettuce too.

This is the pudding that I came up with for the recent foodbloggers’ Masterchef cookoff with Miele.    When planning a menu it is perfectly normal and reasonable to come up with a pudding first and then plan a main course to go with it?   I wanted a very summery pudding using my homemade elderflower cordial;  it also had to be very quick to make, impossible to mess up and hopefully delicious.   I think that I have attained all 3 requisites here.   Looking back over my archives it would also seem that possets will freeze well too.

As these possets have extra liquid from the cordial added to them I used extra thick double cream to make sure they set.

Lime & Elderflower Possets (makes 4 – 6)

284 ml carton extra thick double cream
2 oz sugar
juice and zest of one lime
1tbs (15ml) elderflower cordial

Simply scrape the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil keep a close eye on it as  it can very rapidly (and messily) boil over.  While the cream heats zest the lime into the pan.   Once it boils, add the sugar, lime juice and cordial.   Simmer for a minute stirring well until the sugar has dissolved.     Pour into serving dishes – 4 ramekins or 6 espresso cups.   Chill until set before serving.    I made these and they were set in under an hour.

I served with strawberries marinated in elderflower cordial and Irish lace biscuits (recipe to come)

Along with lots of other bloggers I was recently sent a coolbag crammed full with Total Greek yogurt, which I have greatly been enjoying using and cooking with.    It is still baking hot in London and I really do not want to spend hours slaving over a hot stove so I have been spending the minimal amount of time in the kitchen.   Tuesday is co-op day and this week my bag contained some beautiful new potatoes which needed to be made into a salad.    Instead of the usual mayonnaise I used some 0% fat Total and added cucumber and mint from my window box* to make a refreshing lunch.

This is another contribution to my series of easy, economical and healthy recipes of what to do with the contents of the co-op “boxes” for the Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project run by Sustain – also part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery.

*I am not a gardener and have to have an alarm on my phone to remind me to water my herbs, but mint seems pretty hard to kill, it seems to thrive on neglect and actually needs a very good prune on a regular basis so it does not turn into a triffid.   If I can grow mint on a window sill in central London I defy anyone not to be able to grow it anywhere.

Potato, Cucumber and Mint Salad

Handful baby new potatoes
Chunk of cucumber
Greek Yogurt (I used Total 0%)
Sprig of mint – roughly chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste

Remove any dirt and mud by gently scrubing the potatoes (but try to keep the skin on, it contains most of the nutrients and taste).  Pop them in a pan and simmer until done.    When cooked drain and slice thickly.   Whilst the spuds are cooking chop the cucumber into 1/2″ chunks.   Put a dollop of yogurt into your salad bowl (I thinned mine with a splash of water as it was very thick).  Add the cucumber, mint (reserving a little for garnish)  and season.  Allow the potatoes to cool a little then stir into the salad.  Garnish with the remining mint.    Enjoy warm or chilled.

You know the occasions when you have asked people for supper, then you get home 5 minutes before they are due to arrive and nothing is prepared?   I think that a bowl of dip is the perfect casual starter.  Easy to throw together from store cupboard staples and the contents of my co-op veg box, the colour is guaranteed to make anyone smile.     Rather than using tinned beans all the time I usually cook dried beans then freeze them ready to be used, it is cheaper and better for the environment and I prefer the taste.     However tinned beans are undeniably highly convenient and I keep a few tins in the cupboard ready for instant useage.

I am a huge fan of the vaccum packed cooked beetroot, they will keep for ages, taste great and add a vibrant splash of colour.   The dip was actually far more colourful than the photo shows.

This is another contribution to my series of easy, economical and healthy recipes of what to do with the contents of the co-op “boxes” for the Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project run by Sustain – also part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery.

Beetroot and Cannellini Bean Dip (Serves 4)

1 tin cannellini beans (410g)
1/2  packet cooked beetroot (or about 4oz / 125g)
glug olive oil
1 clove garlic
zest of one lemon
1 spring onion* (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Simply open the can of beans and rinse well.  Put all the ingredients into your food processor (or into a tall pot and use a stick blender) and blend well.   Season to taste.    Serve with crudites and strips of pitta bread.   I used some chives from my window box to garnish – you could use the green part of a spring onion finely chopped.

* I have noticed a growing trend to call spring onions “salad onions”.     I am suspecting some directive that has decided that as they are not exclusively available in the spring that the name is a misnomer?   I almost prefer the American term “scallion” which to me aptly alludes to a scally wag and youthfulness?

London is hot hot hot and humid to boot.    I am positively enjoying my supermarket trips at the moment as I linger  and closely examine every object in the frozen section.    And what better for these hot summer mornings than ice cream for breakfast?    This is totally healthy, unprocessed, raw and vegan and tastes fantastic.   What better way to start (or end) your hot summer days?

This is another contribution to my series of easy, economical and healthy recipes of what to do with the contents of the co-op “boxes” for the Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project run by Sustain – also part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery.

The secret behind this ice cream is blended frozen banana which has been written about all over the internet many times before.   When put into the food processor the frozen banana transforms into a fluffy creamy mousse like ice cream, add some milk and it makes the perfect smoothie base.    Try it and be amazed!  Peel and slice the bananas into 2″ pieces and freeze on a baking tray.  When frozen pack into boxes.   I now always have several boxed of bananas and soft fruit in the freezer for smoothies and ice cream.     I think that this would also be perfect for fruit hating children.

Banana & Strawberry Ice “Cream” (serves 2)

3 frozen bananas
handful frozen strawberries
handful fresh strawberries
Cacao nibs to sprinkle (optional)

Put the banana and strawberries into your food processor and leave for a few minutes to slightly soften and then process.   Depending how powerful your machine is you may need to add a little milk and scrape the sides of the bowl down to speed the process along.      The fruit will slowly transform into a fluffy whipped ice “cream” resembling Mr Whippy ice cream.    Serve immediately with some more fresh fruit and a sprinkling of cacao nibs.   Eat immediately.

The English asparagus season is sadly coming to an end there only a few days left.    I hope I am able to find one last bunch before the season is over.

I usually griddle my asparagus;  simply blanch by pouring a kettle of boiling water over your asparagus, shake well and put on a pre heated griddle pan that you have drizzled a little olive oil on.   Griddle until stripy.    Serve with a knob of butter and a sprinkling of salt.

I have a huge amount of love for smoked & tinned fish, it is delicious, cheap and when sealed in its packet keeps well for several weeks.    I buy my smoked and tinned fish from Waitrose as all their fish is sustainable and certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive a cool bag packed with Total Greek Yoghurt much of it has gone into breakfast smoothies, but I used one last pot in this gratin.

If you are gentle with it Greek yoghurt should not split if you cook with it.  I find that it occassionally does spilt, especially if you are mixing it with lemon juice, but it still tastes delicious and has the huge advantage in being considerable lower in fat than cream – I used the 2% Total in this dish,  single cream has a fat content of 18% – by my maths that is 9 Greek yoghurt gratins for the price of one creamy one, it is not even close to a fair fight!

We both enjoyed this and it is firmly on the to make again list.  Next time I will probably not put spinach in the gratin as it made it too watery and my caper obsessed mind is telling my that capers would would well stirred into the gratin too.
Smoked Mackerel Gratin (serves 2)

10oz / 225g potatoes
2 smoked mackerel fillets – skin removed and roughly chopped
150g pot 2% Greek yoghurt
1 tbs grain mustard
Sprinkling of cheese
Pepper & salt to taste
Olive Oil
Spinach leaves

Par boil the potatoes – I used salad potatoes and did not bother to peel them.     Heat the oven to 375F / 190C / GM5.   Glug some olive oil into an oven proof dish.   Add a handful of spinach then the mackerel.     Stir the mustard into the yoghurt then spread over the mish and spinach.   Drain and slice the potatoes, arrange on top of the yoghurt.    Grate some strong cheese over – I used some aged Gouda that was delicious, season with salt and pepper.    Bake until bubbling and the cheesey potatoes are turning golden.     Serve with extra spinach.

What could be more English than a glass of  homemade elderflower cordial drunk in an English garden in the evening of Midsummer’s Day?

I picked the elderflowers on Midsummer’s eve and bottled them on Midsummer’s day.

Today is Midsummer’s day and for those of us in the Northern hemisphere the longest day of the year, for those in the Southern hemisphere it is the shortest day, and they now have the pleasure of looking forward to longer days and the coming of spring.   Such are the vagaries of English weather the middle of June often feels like late spring and although the today middle of that day was baking hot there distinct chill at either end; at 10pm I am sitting in a fleece at my computer.

The delicate spring like elderflower abounds during June, seemingly in every hedgerow and garden.     I love the idea of foraging from the countryside and cooking with my bounty.  Elderflower cordial is the obvious thing to make with my flowers.  I also was thinking of a delicate jam or jelly – perhaps pairing them with rhubarb or gooseberries, but in my limited time the cordial won.  Naturally the best blooms were situated over a bed of nettles, so I dressed in my best protective clothing of wellies, jeans and a long sleeved top and waded in; brandishing my secateurs!  I am delighted to have discovered a simple way to preserve my cordial; seemingly indefinately so it no longer needs to be kept in the fridge.

When the elderflowers start to come into bloom start to save your screw top wine and spirit bottles to decant your cordial into.

Elderflower Cordial (makes about 3 wine bottles full)

20 heads of elderflower
1 kg sugar
1.5l water
4 lemons (or 2 lemons and 2 oranges)
55g citric acid

(Campden tablets to preserve your cordial)

Pick your elderflower heads and give them a very good shake as they will be full of bugs.   Place in a bowl, slice the lemons (or oranges) and add to the elderflower blooms.

Place the sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil stirring until the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat, add the citric acid and stir to dissolve it.  Pour the sugar syrup over the elderflower and citrus mix and leave for 24 hours.

Sterilise your bottles by placing them in a cold oven,  turn the temperature to (150C / 300F / GM 2) then after 15 minutes turn off.   Decant the cordial by staining through a layer of cheesecloth or muslin into the warm bottles.    If you want to preserve your cordial leave a gap at the top of each bottle.   Seal the bottles and keep in the fridge,  dilute 1 part to 5 with still of fizzy water.    Alternatively decant the cordial into plastic bottles so you can freeze it.

To preserve add one Campden Tablet per gallon of cordial, these should be available in any hardware store – or shop that sells wine and beer making supplies.    These tablets contain potassium or sodium metabisulphite which will kill or inhibit the growth of the bacteria and yeast that will cause your cordial to go off.   As an extra precaution you can also add a fermentation inhibitor at the same time.    I had 10 wine bottles of cordial, which is about 7.5 litres.   At 4.5 litres to an imperial gallon I needed just over 1.5 Campden tablets to add to my cordial so I dissolved 1 and a half tablets and some dust into 250ml water and added 25ml of the resulting mix to each bottle, shook each well and resealed.   The sulphites in my cordial should greatly reduce with time as they do their work, so I left a few bottles untreated to be stored in the fridge and used over the next few weeks.

My food co-op has just made the summer switch over from vegetable bags to salad bags.  Despite having not had a bag for the last couple of weeks (busy with life and the decorating) there are still a number of root vegetables languishing at the bottom of the fridge waiting to be eaten.    As recent posts have showed I love roast vegetables.   They are simply easy and delicious, perfect for any non leafy vegetables that are slightly too large or past its best.      This is a fantastic recipe for the evening before co-op day, scoop out the remains of last week’s bag from the vegetable drawer of the fridge and use them all up.

This is another contribution to my series of easy, economical and healthy recipes of what to do with the contents of the co-op “boxes” for the Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project run by Sustain – also part of the Making Local Food Work programme funded by the Big Lottery.

Roast Root Vegetables with Pesto

A mix of carrots, parsnips, turnip, onions, potato, beetroot etc.
Olive Oil
Pesto
Salt & Pepper to taste

Simply peel the vegetables and cut into batons, chunks or wedges about the thickness of your thumb.   Place in a roasting tray, add a good glug of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, give the tray a good shake to coat the vegetables with the oil.    Place in a moderately hot oven 190C / 325F / GM 5 and cook for about 40 minutes until the vegetables are soft and starting to caramalise.    Flip the vegetables once whilst cooking.

Place vegetables into a serving bowl, add a spoon or two of pesto and another glug of olive oil and stir well.   Serve warm or cold.

I add some more oil to my leftover pesto and freeze it in a tupperware box, by adding oil the pesto does not freeze completely solid so you can easily spoon some out.   To make the recipe vegan simply use a vegan pesto or make your own.