Tofu with Teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds

I've decided to declutter several boxes of recipes torn out of weekend magazines and food supplements, including a big stash of Feast magazines. I might still keep some of Rachel Roddy's column pages on the Italian food though.
Reading last year's Feast while sipping my coffee, I nodded in agreement with Fiona Beckett who wisely says "I know it's an unfashionable view these days, but January is not a time for abstention. Moderation maybe, but no booze at all? That makes an already miserable month even more dismal."

It's not that we drink much. Certainly not on par with numerous Insta and Twitter posts, announcing it's Gin o'clock to the world. Last week when I was sorting out the recycling, I realised we only had 2 empty bottles to put in the black box - from a sweet dessert wine we opened days before Christmas, and champagne which we had for the new year's eve. Nothing like the full, overflowing black bins I've seen around in town. They must have been partying at full steam, lucky devils. 

I had a small sherry on the 7th to celebrate the Russian Christmas.

Then tomorrow, on the 14th of January, the Russians will be celebrating the so called Old New Year (the start of the new year according to the Julian calendar). It's not a formal holiday, but is traditionally observed with parties and having family get-togethers. I might raise a glass of something like a G&T to mark the occasion, though that would depend on what I'm going to cook. I usually make evening meal plans in the morning.

So, not a Dry January for me then.

I have had no plans for Veganuary either, but that doesn't mean we don't eat meals which happen to be vegan-friendly.

There was a Blue Dragon Teriyaki Street Food Skewers kit in the latest Degustabox.
Last Monday I cooked tofu, using the kit, which includes a Teriyaki sauce sachet, a Teriyaki marinade, sesame seeds and skewers. The kit has the advantage that all the necessary ingredients are present. The only thing I didn't use is the skewers.

Tofu with teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds
Ingredients:
1 pack of Cauldron tofu
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 sweet pepper
1 kit of Blue Dragon Teriyaki Street Food Skewers
OR
Teriyaki marinade
Teriyaki sauce
sesame seeds
+
rice and peas

Put cubed tofu in marinade for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, chop a couple of carrots and a red sweet pepper. After cooking them for about 5 minutes in a big frying pan, add tofu, splash the Teriyaki sauce and finally sprinkle sesame seeds.
Cook for another 5 minutes stirring frequently.
Serve tofu with rice and peas.

My younger son loved it so much, he requested it for the next day. And while I could easily find all the other ingredients, I couldn't find Blue Dragon kit in the local Waitrose.

Rather than change the plans, I simply bought a bottle of Teriyaki marinade, a jar of Teriyaki sauce and a small bag of sesame seeds.

It's not much of a recipe, I agree, but do give it a go, if you haven't tried tofu before.
The brand I used is Cauldron (it's organic and GMO-free).

My son asked me today to cook the same dish again, so I promised to oblige him one day this week.

Are you observing Dry January or Veganuary?

Potato salad with vegan mayo

This week (27 May- 2 June 2019) is a BBQ week. Many families will be having casual get-togethers and inviting neighbours and friends. Judging by the frequent smell of the burnt meat wafting indoors, our neighbours have already been firing up their BBQs regularly.
We don't have a BBQ that often, in fact we haven't had any this year so far. But as it's a midterm break, I hope we could have friends over for a casual meal at the weekend.
It will be a mix of meat-eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians.

One of my top favourite foods at any BBQ is a humble potato salad. This easy side dish is delicious, and goes well with most BBQed foods.
I don't need an excuse to make a potato salad. It's one of my favourite foods, and I'm happy to eat it, BBQ or not.

In this recipe I'm going to use two of the products which were delivered in the latest Degustabox - Kühne whiskey cornichons and a Hellmann's vegan mayo.
None of us are vegans, but I was very curious to try the vegan mayo.
I'm not a fan of vegan cheese (I tried many varieties and was mostly underwhelmed), but I enjoy some of the vegan milk alternatives.
One of the potato salad recipes that I tend to make has eggs, but since I'm making a vegan salad, they were left out.

Potato salad with vegan mayo
Ingredients:
6 + medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill
8+ mini cornichons
1 tbsp mustard
1/2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp pickle liquid (from cornichons)
4-5+ heaped tbsp mayo

The basic steps for making a potato salad are the same whether it's a vegan or non-vegan version.
Peel and quarter potatoes, and cook them in salted boiling water or steam until soft (but not mushy, don't overcook them). Let them cool down, before chopping into smaller chunks.
Chop the celery stalks and cornichons.
Make the dressing by mixing together mustard, caster sugar, pickle liquid and mayo. If you cooked the potatoes in the steamer, you might want to add salt to the dressing.
Mix the potatoes with celery, cornichons and dressing. Chop some fresh dill and scatter over the top.

What did we think of Hellmann's vegan mayo? I was pleasantly surprised at how creamy and tasty it is.
It's definitely a perfect alternative to a dairy-based mayo.

Kühne whiskey cornichons are crunchy and delicious. A lovely treat for all fans of pickles. I haven't tried them before, but I did buy a jar of Kühne gin cornichons recently in Ocado. Both flavours are great. Any dull cheese sandwich will benefit from this tasty addition.

Have you tried this vegan mayo? What did you think?

Leftover rice cutlets

There are some things you learn in youth that stay with you forever, imprinted in your brain in their glaring severity, as if branded with a hot iron. You might forget some important scientific rules, mathematic equations or historical dates become obscure in your memory, but some stuff just stays put, years later.
As a child growing up in the Soviet Union, I, like millions of the other Soviet children and young people, had to read and study many works by Lenin, the founder of the Russian Communist Party.

Many years later, I resent every single hour of my life wasted on that. He was a horrid person, and I could never understand how such intelligent people like his parents could bring up such a monster.

One of the works we had to study was called Leo Tolstoy as the Mirror of the Russian Revolution (if you fancy reading it in an English translation just click on the link). Lenin is full of derision and makes nasty remarks about Tolstoy, his main argument being that Tolstoy was a hypocrite due to his strong religious beliefs.

And thus he destroys all the Russian intellectuals, who followed Tolstoy's way of thinking. In Lenin's words the Russian intellectual "publicly beats his breast and wails: "I am a bad wicked man, but I am practising moral self-perfection; I don't eat meat any more, I now eat rice cutlets."

The history proved who was the hypocrite and who was the monster.

And what's wrong with the rice cutlets, if you ask me? Apart from the fact that when I hear words "rice cutlets", I think of Leo Tolstoy and the spiteful comments by Lenin. Just why this particular quote stayed in my head forever, is a mystery to me.

I cannot claim that eating rice cutlets makes me an intellectual either. 

If you think I've lost the plot completely, please bear with me.

I cooked rice cutlets yesterday and thought I'd share this easy recipe of what to do with the leftover rice.

I don't know which rice cutlets Leo Tolstoy favoured, but from my childhood I remember rice and raisin cutlets served with sweet kissel (berry sauce) which we had in the nursery or school.

The beauty of leftover rice cutlets is that you can literally use whichever leftovers you might have. You can use a grated raw potato instead of a mashed cooked one, grate a parsnip or sweet potato instead of the carrot, add spring onions rather than the onion, the spices could be again different (garam masala is fab, for example).
They are lovely with a soured cream or Greek style yogurt mixed with fresh herbs, and even salad cream.

Leftover rice cutlets

Ingredients:

3tbsp oil

1/2 white onion (big size)

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped finely

1 small carrot or 1/2 big carrot

150g cooked basmati rice

1 small potato, cooked and mashed

2tbsp self-raising flour

1 medium egg

about 1/2tsp ground cumin and turmeric each

salt

In a small frying pan fry a finely chopped onion with 2tbsp olive oil. Add the finely chopped chilli about 5 minutes after frying the onion. Cook, stirring frequently for another 5 minutes. Add the spices, and mix well.
In a medium mixing bowl add the grated carrot, cooked rice, mashed potato, flour and beat in 1 egg.  Add the fried onion and chilli, and mix all the ingredients together. The mix is quite gloopy.
Divide it into about 6 parts, then shape them into cutlets (oval or round).
Place the cutlets on the oiled tray or grill, and place in the oven preheated to 180C (that's what they look like uncooked).

Cook for about 20 minutes. Serve hot, with a soured cream/Greek yogurt on the side or without.

This is a vegetarian meal, which could be easily adapted for meat eaters and served as a side dish for sausages.

I told Eddie these were Minecraft cutlets, as they are crafted as a block from all available valuable materials. Like in Minecraft where you need different ingots or gems to craft a single resource block, these cutlets are also "built" from a variety of valuable ingredients.
This kind of amused my child, so between him and me the rice cutlets are now called Minecraft cutlets.

Adding this recipe to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews.

Fennel and potatoes in tomato sauce

Having looked at beautiful savoury mini muffins with garlic scapes on Choclette's blog Tin and Thyme, I popped into the garden to see if I can find any scapes. Nope, just as I thought, they'd come later in summer, in mid-July. I still picked a few green garlic leaves for the fennel and potato dish.
I planted garlic a few years ago on the strawberry patch as a preventive measure against slugs, and now find it growing in the most bizarre places in the garden. The slugs were undeterred, but the garlic stayed.

I had in mind cooking patatas bravas for dinner tonight, but there was lovely fennel at a reduced price in Waitrose, and I got a couple of bulbs. So, it's not exactly patatas bravas, but this dish is inspired by the classic Spanish recipe.

400g new potatoes, skins on
3tbsp olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs
smoked sea salt
1tbsp smoked paprika
1tsp finely chopped parsley
1tbsp butter
1 tin of tomato fillets in tomato juice (Cirio Filetti)
2tbsp chopped garlic greens

Cut new potatoes into chunks and parboil them in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the water. Slice fennel bulbs and place them into a big roast tin or ceramic dish. Scatter the potatoes on top. Add the olive oil, season with smoked sea salt and paprika and mix well.
Add a little bit of butter. Chop the garlic greens (or swap for a garlic clove) and fresh parsley, and scatter over the veg. Pour the contents of tomato fillets in tomato juice over the vegetables as well as half a tin of water.
Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C. Cook for 30+ minutes until the potatoes are soft.
If you like it hot, add more paprika or chilli flakes. 1tbsp of paprika gives it a flavour rather than heat. And smoked paprika has a beautiful flavour.

This dish could make a lovely vegetarian meal, serve it with a chunky bread.
It will also make a tasty side dish to go with meat or fish.

In this recipe I used Cirio Filetti, but any other tinned Cirio product would work well in this dish.

Pancetta-wrapped tuna steaks with lemony potatoes

I'm in a rather grouchy mood this evening, because I managed to ruin my much loved bundt cake tin. I have struggled with a cake recipe found on Taste of Home (online). It sounded rather lovely, what with cream cheese and blueberries. But first the cake batter escaped the tin, after 10 minutes in the oven, so I had to take the tin out, and clean the oven, then the cake baked in a concave shape, with all blueberries grouped together in the middle. And then I could hardly prize it out of the tin altogether. I was embarrassed to offer it to my men, but the unsuspecting husband claimed it was very tasty. He did have a laugh later when he saw the cake in the kitchen though.
I hope I can still salvage my tin, but I'll let it soak overnight. And I'll need to work out what exactly went wrong with the recipe. The flavours are all there, but the presentation is beyond the pale, i.e. unacceptable.

I've been trying to spend as much time as possible today in the kitchen, listening to the Classic FM Hall of Fame. So far none of my votes appeared, it's either a good sign of them still to come later, or they might be out of top 300 altogether.

As it is Friday, I cooked fish for dinner. Thanks goodness, my dear husband didn't comment that we were having fish again.
The latest issue of BBC Good Food had an Italian Classics Collection supplement, and I loved the sound of pancetta-wrapped fish with lemony potatoes. I couldn't find pollock in Waitrose, and picked up two tuna steaks instead.

Pancetta-wrapped tuna steaks with lemony potatoes
Ingredients:
300g new potatoes
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
a hnadful of cherry tomatoes
a handful of black Kalamata olives
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tuna steaks
4 rashers of pancetta
2tbsp spring onions, chopped

Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain the water.
Halve the potatoes and put in a roasting tin or dish with the olive oil, toss in the olives, chopped spring onions and tomatoes, add the grated lemon zest and juice and mix together well.
Season the steaks and wrap them in pancetta rashers. Lay the fish on top of the potatoes. Place the roasting dish in the oven preheated to 180C. Cook for about 12-15 minutes until cooked through (or less if you like tuna steaks rare).
Serve hot.

Have you been listening to the Hall of Fame today?

Cooking with kids: Fish pie

Sainsbury's Active Kids promotion is back, and many parents like me, collect the vouchers for our kids' schools. The more Active Kids vouchers you collect, the more your school will benefit, as they will be able to exchange the vouchers for Active Kids equipment and experiences.
Even if your children are no longer in nursery or school you could check out who's collecting near you at Sainsburys.co.uk/ActiveKids.
Sainsbury's Active Kids recently released an "Eat well. Move well. Live well" report. It delved into the current issues surrounding young people's attitudes to their nutrition, health and fitness.

Image credits: Sainsbury's Active Kids

The report showed some thought-provoking stats about the health and nutrition beliefs of children.
- Over one fifth refer to social media, YouTube stars and bloggers to find information on healthy eating.
- 41% of kids believe they should "probably do more" when it comes to exercise
- 43% of kids think that cutting out a food group will lead to a healthy lifestyle.
There is considerable evidence that the UK's children are living increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, for a number of reasons, including the rise of social media, the increased availability of cheap fast food and the move away from home cooking.
Sainsbury's Active Kids programme is now in its 13th year. Every year it donates millions of pounds worth of equipment and experiences to UK schools, nurseries and clubs.
Both of my sons' schools have boxes in the offices, and encourage parents to collect the vouchers.

What needs to be done to encourage our children to live healthier lives? Is it a school's role or parents' responsibility? Also it it up to a school to police what children are eating?
I regularly read discussions on Mumsnet about how confusing and contradictory the policing of what children eat at school is. Some of the schools implement stupid regulations on what is allowed in the lunchboxes, confiscating yogurts or homemade flapjacks, at the same time offering calorie and sugar-laden desserts to children who eat school lunches.

My children's schools are quite laid-back about what comes in the lunch box.
Looking at Eddie's school menu (he eats school lunches four times a week, except on Wednesday when he takes a lunch box, as he doesn't like roast meat), it is quite varied and includes a good selection of meals. However, almost every dessert (or pudding, as my son calls it) is pretty sweet - iced buns with fruit, strawberry jelly with peaches, sticky toffee sponge with cream, iced cream with fruit, chocolate and pear brownie, fruit salad waffle and chocolate sauce, apple turnover with custard etc.
A treat once in a while is absolutely fine, but I would have liked them to include more fresh fruit as a dessert, or a fruit salad without cream or sauce.

I know it is easier to say we should all have a balanced diet, than actually follow your own advice. My children are both fussy eaters.
Teaching children to cook is one way of encouraging them to eat healthier.

Both of my sons show interest in cooking, though they prefer to help me with cakes and bakes, and understandably so. Decorating a cake is much more fun than cooking steamed broccoli.
Sasha loves to watch while I'm chopping and mixing. Eddie loves to help with beating the cake batter.
I should be more relaxed about them getting it wrong, or making a big mess, otherwise how will they learn.

Last week, I asked Eddie to help me to make individual fish pies. He was in charge of mashed potato topping, and he was very enthusiastic about it.

Individual fish pies (serves 3-4, depending on the size of ramekins)
Ingredients:
2 medium to big potatoes
4 heaped tbsp Greek style yogurt
a squeeze of lemon juice
1tbsp olive oil
350g fish pie mix (salmon, haddock, etc)
2tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2tbsp chopped fresh spring onions
a handful of sweetcorn, defrosted
a handful of peas, defrosted

Make the potato mash first by boiling the peeled and chopped potatoes in a medium pan of boiling water for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain the water, leaving a little bit in a pan. Mash the potatoes, allow to cool, then stir in the yogurt and lemon juice.
In a frying pan, give fish mix a quick fry for a couple of minutes, turning over. Add the chopped herbs, sweetcorn and peas, and put into the slightly oiled individual deep ramekins. Top up with the mashed potatoes, and put the ramekins in the oven preheated to 180C for 20 minutes.
Serve hot, with some steamed greens, like tenderstem broccoli or green beans.

This is a healthier version of the fish pie. We didn't use butter or whole milk in the mash, adding the low calorie Greek style yogurt instead. Usually I would top up the fish pie with grated cheese, but we skipped it this time. It was a lovely fish pie nevertheless, but I think next time we'll still add a bit of grated cheese.
Eddie liked being in charge of the mash, and pronounced it delicious (even if it was quite lumpy).

Disclosure: I received a Sainsbury's voucher for the purposes of cooking a healthier meal with my kids. All opinions are our own.

Swedish-style potato salad

I love potatoes in all guises and disguises, and will happily eat them every day, given a chance. A potato salad is a must for any BBQ, it's a perfect side dish for grilled meat, fish, sweet peppers or mushrooms. There are many versions of potato salad - with mayo, mustard dressing, vinaigrette or oil. Eastern and Northern European recipes often ask for a soured cream as one of the ingredients. In Italy they might add a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and add a handful of capers - that's the way my mother-in-law prepares a potato side dish.

Swedish-style potato salad
Ingrdeients:
3 medium sized potatoes
4tbsp soured cream
1tbsp pickle brine
2tbsp chopped sweet pickled gherkins, + more for decoration
a handful of fresh dill, chopped

Peel and cut potatoes into big chunks, cook in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and add the soured cream and pickle brine, while potatoes are still warm. Chop the dill and gherkins and mix with the salad. Add more gherkins to decorate the salad.

This is my kind of food - potatoes and pickles, and who cares about the grill?! For me that's already a super meal.

In this recipe I have used Swedish sweet pickled Felix gherkins from the latest Degustabox. Unlike many British supermarket varieties of pickles which taste of nothing but vinegar, these gherkins are flavourful and tasty, with a right balance of sweet and salty. They are cooked using a traditional recipe with vinegar, sugar and spices. They are crunchy and crisp, and lovely in sandwiches.

Aloo egg curry

It's been raining all day on Thursday. We even had a bit of a hail in the afternoon. Then the sun poked out for a bit before going back behind the rain clouds. My boys and I stayed at home all day. Eddie insisted on having fusilli with ketchup for dinner, Sash had his own usual meal. I fancied a meat-free dinner. Having rummaged in the kitchen, I came up with a plan of cooking a potato and egg curry.

Potato and egg curry
Ingredients:
3 eggs, hard-boiled
2 big potatoes, parboiled
2tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
1/2tsp ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2tsp ground ginger
1tsp garam masala powder
salt and black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
160ml coconut cream

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water. Drain potatoes, let them cool before cutting into big cubes.
Cook the eggs to hard-boiled, once cooked, peel the eggs and quarter them.
In a deep frying pan fry the celery and leek in the olive oil, with the added garlic and spices. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped tomatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring.
Add the cubed potatoes and coconut cream, mix well with the curry sauce, cook for a couple of minutes, finally add the eggs, and stir for a minute.
Serve hot.

It's a quick and easy vegetarian dish.

Gado-Gado salad

I've been reading reviews of Kitchen Trotter written by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews for a while, thinking how exciting that travelling via world cuisines food box subscription was. And to my delight, it is available now in the UK as well. I was pleased to receive my first Kitchen Trotter box, which is Indonesia-themed this month. When I opened the box, I realised that I don't know most of the exotic ingredients. For a foodie like me, it is like opening a Christmas present. Oh, the excitement!
Every month Kitchen Trotter delivers a cooking kit to your door. Each box is a surprise, but it will allow you to cook an authentic meal that serves 4-6 people and create 4 authentic recipes. It includes 7+ gourmet items. You can subscribe at £29.00 monthly fee (unsubscribe at any time).

Today my boys are back to school after a week-long break. Eager to start cooking, using the ingredients from  Kitchen Trotter, I decided to make a quick and simple salad called Gado Gado.

What will you need?

Gado Gado recipe (recipe courtesy of Kitchen Trotter)
From the kit
for the dressing:
80g Gado Gado Mix - Asli
2tbsp Kecap Manis - Bango
2 Combava leaves - Terre Exotique

+ add:
80ml water
2 bay leaves

For the salad:
salad leaves (I used gem lettuce, the booklet suggests iceberg lettuce)
4 small potatoes
4 tomatoes
4 radishes
4 eggs
1/2 cucumber

As I was cooking just for myself, I have quartered the amount of ingredients and halved the amount of ingredients for the dressing (I still have some dressing left for another salad tomorrow).

Pour the water in the saucepan, adding the combava and bay leaves. Heat. Once the water starts boiling, add the Gado Gado mix.
As soon as the mix thickens, remove from the heat and mix in Kecap Manis. Keep aside.

What exactly is Gado Gado mix? This is a peanut base dry mix.with sugar, mixed herbs and spices. It is an interesting combination of sweet and savoury, a great base for a dressing.
Dried Combava leaves have a citrus fruit aroma close to lemon. Combava leaves are also known as kaffir lime leaves (which are easily found in supermarkets). This ingredient is very popular in Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Indonesian cuisines.
Kecap Manis (Bango) is apparently an Indonesian cusine must-have. This is a sweet and slightly thick soy sauce which is used in a variety of recipes. I loved the taste of this soy sauce, and can easily see it used in many Asian meals.

Back to our salad - peel and cook potatoes. Cook the eggs to hard-boiled. Slice the tomatoes and radishes.
Assemble your salad by putting the lettuce first, then all the other ingredients. Season with salt and add the Gado Gado dressing over.

Kitchen Trotter suggested this lovely vegetarian salad as a starter for an Indonesian-themed menu. I had it for lunch, and really enjoyed it. The salad itself is not specifically exotic, if anything, I have had salads like that for many years, but it's the dressing which makes all the difference, adding an exotic flavour.

I will be posting more recipes from the latest Kitchen Trotter box, but if you fancy seeing which other countries and recipes were covered in the past, check out Kitchen Trotter posts by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews.

Disclosure: I received the food box for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Leek and potato soup with flaked almonds

Souping is one of the foodie trends for 2016. Apparently souping is the new juicing, being made trendy by super healthy Gwyneth Paltrow and clean eating blogellas. Actually the word souping makes me shudder.
And what's so new about it? It's one of the oldest ways of cooking, known for thousands of years. The history of soup is as old as the history of cooking.
The Chinese workers who were excavating the base for a new airport, have dug out a bronze cooking pot which was sealed so tightly that the soup inside it was still liquid. The archeologists confirmed that the pot and its contents were at least 2400 years old. It still contained bones and turned green due to the bronze oxidation. Eat your heart out, Gwynnie.

Soup has never been out of fashion, has it?! Growing up in Russia, soup was served on a daily basis. Nurseries, schools, factory canteens, hospitals etc - soup was considered to be part of a healthy diet. And believe me, the Russians know their soups.
And what about the UK? There are so many British soups to choose from.
So I'm sorry, souping might be a new word (and silly at that too), but the actual soup has never left our tables.

Last week's Superb Souping Box from Abel and Cole had ingredients enough for three different soups.
One them of them was a twist on a classic leek and potato soup. This is one of our favourites which I cook quite often in winter, it's always easy to make and so tasty.

Leek and potato soup with flaked almonds
Ingredients:
3 leeks
1 celery stick
2tbsp sunflower oil
2 big potatoes
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 vegetable stock cube
100ml coconut milk (standard milk would be absolutely fine as well)
flaked almonds

Slice the leeks finely, making sure that you get rid of all the grit in the green part when washing them. Trim the celery and chop it as well. Place the leeks and celery in a deep frying pan with the sunflower (or olive) oil, don't season yet, as you might find the stock cube salty enough. On low fry for about 10 minutes, stirring infrequently. Chop the garlic and add to the leeks, cook for another couple of minutes.
Place the fried vegetables in a medium sized pan, add the peeled and chopped potatoes.
Make the stock with 1 vegetable stock cube and hot water, about 600ml. Pour over the leeks and potatoes, add a bay leaf or any other dried herbs you like, cook simmering for about 25 minutes. In the last 5 minutes add the coconut milk. This is entirely optional, I had a carton of coconut milk so used that, but usually I add just plain semi-skimmed milk.
In a dry frying pan toast a handful of flaked almonds for about 2-3 minutes, tossing them so that they don't get burnt.
Blitz the soup with the hand blender and serve hot with the flaked almonds scattered on top.
The almonds add an extra texture to an otherwise smooth and creamy soup. A nice touch (though I confess I prefer my usual spoonful of soured cream or thick Greek style yogurt for a hint of sourness).

And here it is, a simple yet delicious soup (and I don't even need to flog a fitness DVD or a cook book, lol).

What's your favourite winter soup? And what do you think of the word "souping" - yay, nay or meh?

Turkey, leek and potato pie

Another after-Christmas day, another dilemma on what to do with the leftovers. Yesterday we had a Boxing day turkey soup. Today I spotted a nice recipe for Turkey, leek and mashed potato pie recipe from Delicious magazine which conveniently arrived by email. I have adapted it, and though we had some Stilton and pancetta, I didn't want the pie to be too fatty and rich, so I skipped those ingredients altogether.
Once all the leftovers and cheese is gone, I really fancy just a plain salad.
I also don't like the taste of the roast potatoes the day or two after they were cooked, and mashing them for the pie didn't appeal at all, so I cooked fresh mashed potatoes just for the pie.

Turkey, leek and potato pie
Ingredients:
2 leeks, finely sliced
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
dried basil
450g white turkey meat, cubed
1tsp fresh thyme leaves
4 medium potatoes
1 tub single cream + more (about 300ml)
2tsp butter
100g Cheddar, grated

Slice the leeks and onion and fry with the olive oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the dried basil. Cube the turkey and place in an oiled medium sized ceramic pie dish or casserole. Layer the leeks and onion mix over the turkey. Pour a bit of cream over.
Cook potatoes in salted water. Drain, leaving some of the liquid in a mug. Mash the potatoes, mix with the single cream and add a bit of potato liquid to make the mash slightly lighter in texture and easier to spread.

Spread over the turkey and leeks. Add a little bit of butter on top. Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C. Cook for about 25+ minutes. Add the grated cheese in the last 8-10 minutes of cooking. Once the cheese has melted and turned golden brown, it's ready.
Serve hot.

This variation on the shepherd's or cottage pie with the leftover turkey is a real winner. It might not be a great looker, but it tastes lovely, and it's an easy recipe too.

Green pepper and sweetcorn tortilla

Today is a World Vegetarian Day. It initiates the whole month dedicated to the vegetarian way of living. To celebrate the Vegetarian Awareness Month many bloggers and brand sites are posting a variety of recipes. Apparently a few days ago, on the 27th of September to be precise, it was a Hug a Vegetarian day. You wonder sometimes who comes with these ideas, and why should I hug a vegetarian on that particular day, and not on any other. Incidentally 4 October will be the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi.
Moving aside from this useful piece of trivia, did you have a meat-free meal today? We did, as I cooked a tortilla.
The idea for a tortilla was suggested by Green Giant who rustled up a few recipes for the World Veggie Day.

Green pepper and sweetcorn tortilla
Ingredients:
1 big potato, boiled and diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4tbsp olive oil + more
1 medium green sweet pepper, deseeded and chopped
3 small tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp fresh basil, chopped
4 medium eggs
4tbsp sweetcorn
2 heaped tbsp hard grated cheese
salt and pepper

Peel and cook a big potato, let it cool before dicing. In a frying pan pour 2tbsp of olive oil, when sizzling, add the finely chopped onion as well as a bit of thyme. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and slightly browned. Remove from the heat. Slice the sweet pepper and tomatoes and cook with 2tbsp of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of fresh basil.
In a big mixing bowl beat the eggs. Season well. add the diced potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes, grated cheese and sweetcorn. Mix well. Pour into a frying pan and cook under the grill until set, or like me, pour in the oiled cake tin and bake in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes.
Cut into slices and eat hot.
It will keep well for another day, if you won't finish it all in one day. Just wrap it cold in cling film or foil and keep in the fridge overnight.

For another healthy vegetarian tortilla follow the recipe created by Green Giant. It uses much more sweetcorn in the recipe for obvious reasons.

Image credits: Green Giant

Sweetcorn and spinach tortilla (recipe courtesy of Green Giant)
Ingredients 
2 medium onions
3 tbsp olive oil
300g bag spinach
250g/9oz potatoes
340g Green Giant sweet corn
6 large eggs
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Method
1. Peel and finely slice the onion, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the frying pan and cook the onion over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.
2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut into small dice, put into a pan with light salted water and boil for 8-10 minutes until just tender, drain. Add to the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Cook the spinach in a large pan of boiling water for 1 minute until just wilted. Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain again, squeezing to extract excess water. Place on a board and roughly chop. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Drain the sweet corn, add to the spinach with the potato and onions.
5. Lightly beat the eggs, season then stir into the vegetables.
6. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan then add the egg mixture and cook over a medium low heat 10 -15 minutes or until almost set.
7. Remove from the heat, scatter over the cheese and pop under a hot grill for 2 minutes until the top is golden. Cover and stand for 10 minutes so the steam firms up the tortilla.
8. Run a palette knife around the edge to loosen the tortilla then slide onto a large flat plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm or cold.

If you liked this recipe, the Green Giant has plenty more of recipes and ideas on their site.


If you are a vegetarian or just try to celebrate the Vegetarian Awareness Month by staying meat-free (even some time during this month), you are welcome to link-up your vegetarian recipes.
It's a one-off linky in honour of the Vegetarian Awareness Month.
I will comment on all posts, RT and G+.

An InLinkz Link-up