Butternut squash and cashew curry

Where do you get inspiration for new cooking ideas? For me it could be anything: though I don't watch many cooking shows on TV these days (apart from the GBBO, and even that I find rather tedious this year), I buy a lot of cook books, subscribe to Veggie magazine and read weekend food supplements (The Guardian's Feast magazine is my top choice for foodie discoveries).

A week ago, we stopped in Costa in between shopping trips. Eddie had his panino while I ordered a cup of latte and a toasted teacake. Looking for what to browse, while I was having a latte, I spotted a Weekend magazine, which had excellent healthy recipes. That week there was a big selection of Dr Moseley's recipes. I liked the look of a Caribbean Coconut & Vegetable Curry, and even took a photo of the recipe.

I have adapted it, skipping some of the ingredients (none of us are keen on kale. Healthy it might be, but we don't like the taste or the texture), adding some of my own, and changing quantities, but overall it's a recipe inspired by Dr Moseley's healthy-eating diet. I believe the original recipe comes from his book called The Clever Guts Diet.

As I mentioned earlier this month, I received a few products from the Whole Foods Online shop, including a bag of whole cashews. I have posted a recipe for a sweet dish, including cashews - see Cashew Apricot Slice.

Cashews are high in protein and healthy fats which could assist in controlling healthy cholesterol levels. They contain a host of vitamins and minerals, essential for daily bodily function.
Whole cashews from Whole Foods Online are raw, unsalted and unroasted. As such, they are a versatile ingredient on many sweet and savoury recipes. They also make a tasty snack.

Now it's a turn of a savoury recipe. It just happened to be a vegan recipe, but it's an accidentally vegan one.  I have cooked vegetarian/vegan curries in the past before, with the chickpeas, but it's the first time I made a curry with black eyed beans.
They make a nice alternative, but if you don't like the taste, they could be swapped for another kind of beans easily.

Butternut squash and cashew curry (serves 4-5)
Ingredients:
4tbsp mild olive oil
1/2 big red onion, chopped finely
1 medium carrot
1tsp curry leaves (optional)
1tsp Malay curry powder (or any curry powder you have)
1tsp ground turmeric
a 4-5cm long piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 lime
a pack of butternut squash wedges (385g)
1 red sweet pepper
1 tin of coconut milk, reduced fat
1 tin of black eyed beans (400g, drained weight 235g)
70g whole cashews

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil and start frying a finely chopped onion, with the curry leaves and chopped carrot. Add all the spices - the curry powder, turmeric, fresh ginger and chopped garlic. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Cook, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes, then add the cubed butternut squash and sliced sweet pepper.
Pour the coconut milk over the squash, add the beans and cashews, lower the heat, cover the pan with the lid, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding some hot water if necessary, if the sauce becomes too thick. The squash should be cooked through.

Serve hot, with rice or without, and a wedge of lime on the side.

Disclosure: As mentioned above, I received a bag of cashews from Whole Foods Online for the purposes of using in a recipe.

Butternut, sweet potato, pepper and lentil traybake

Gosh, wasn't it a granite-grey and miserable day yesterday? The rain was relentless, and it was so dark, even in the early afternoon. Late autumn and winter make a perfect time for comfort food.
Hearty vegetables and pulses, cooked as casseroles or tray bakes, are great for damp and chilly days.

Ingredients:
4tbsp mild olive oil
1 pack of butternut & sweet potato (350g)
1 pack of exotic mushrooms (200g)
1 red onion
1 carrot
1 sweet pepper
a handful of cherry tomatoes
a handful of fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme)
1 tin of Amy's Kitchen

In a small frying pan quickly fry a finely chopped red onion and carrot (about 3-4 minutes). Add the mushrooms, and cook for another couple of minutes. Set aside.
Place the cubed squash and sweet potato, as well as sliced sweet pepper and tomatoes in a deep ceramic dish/tray, drizzle 2tbsp of oil and mix well. Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C.
Roast for about 20 minutes, then add the mushroom and onion mix, herbs and lentil soup.
Place the tray back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Serve hot, with basmati rice.

In this recipe I used a tin of Amy's Kitchen Organic Lentil Vegetable soup, which was part of the latest Degustabox food box. If you don't have this particular brand of soup, any chunky lentil soup will work.

The MamaBake Book by M.Shearer & K.Swan + Pumpkin & Ricotta Cannelloni

I am a busy Mum, and there are days when I'm feeling totally exhausted and overwhelmed by the dietary demands and wishes of my family. And yes, there are moments when I feel like throwing a tantrum and refusing to cook. Sounds familiar?
I was very curious to discover a new cook book which evangelizes weekly meal plans and batch cooking.
The MamaBake Book (HarperCollins, published 22 February 2018, £12.99) professes to be no ordinary cookbook. It claims to revolutionise the way we prepare family meals - "once you try the MamaBake way you will never look back!"

I'm mistrustful by nature when any big claims are made, but I'm also open to new ideas and happy to be converted.

MamaBake movement and cook book are the brainchild of two mothers - Michelle Shearer and Karen Swan. It was Michelle who founded their community in 2010, with the grassroots cooking club and a meeting place for young mums who would cook meals in batches, then share and swap their prepared meals to take back home a week's worth of food enough to feed a family.
This big batch cooking granted them free time during the week.

I had to smile, when I read about "mothers united in their passion to free up women from the unending pressures of domestic burden through the power of The Sisterhood".
It reads like a revolutionary pamphlet, rather idealistic.

Take me: I love cooking, and wouldn't dream of not cooking for a whole week. Yes, it is a burden at times, and I do moan about it, but half-heartedly, as basically I love cooking. In my situation it would be impossible for other mothers to cater to my family's special situation with an autistic child who would most likely not eat any of the foods cooked by someone else. But I digress...

I was intrigued as to how this book teaches you to plan meals a week in advance, make shopping lists and batch cook.
If you discard the grandiose statements about The Sisterhood and domestic burden, it is actually a clever guide on how to be more organised and adapt your cooking to make life easier.

Many things mentioned in the book make a lot of sense, like labelling containers or zip lock bags which go in the freezer. Guilty as charged: how many times I took out the container out of the freezer without a clue as to what's inside and how long it was stored there.

The MamaBake Book features many inspired once-a-week cooking plans and big batch recipes. There are over 200 recipes to choose from.
The book would better suit a non-vegetarin/vegan family. There is a Meat-free week menu and the vegan slow cooker menu, but I would say the majority of recipes are for meat-eaters.
Some weeks' menus include meat on an almost daily basis.

The book conveniently offers shopping lists which include everything you will need to cook meals for a week. The once-a-week plans include seven different recipes with step-by-step of prep and cooking.

It is an inspiring concept. And while I don't think I'm ready yet to do a week's worth of meals in one go, I might just try to batch-cook more often and freeze (and label!!!) the meals.

I would have liked to see illustrations of at least some of the recipes. For me photos and/or illustrations are the main magnet to cook books. The MamaBake book is free from illustrations.

There were quite a few of recipes I have bookmarked, for example, Vegetable & bean pie with polenta crust, Greek honey biscuits, potato pizzas, pumpkin falafel & flatbreads and more.

One of the recipes I have tried already - and which we loved - is Pumpkin & Ricotta Cannelloni.

Pumpkin & Ricotta Cannelloni (recipe reproduced with kind permission from HarperCollins)
Ingredients:
1/2 butternut pumpkin (butternut squash in the UK), peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks
1tbsp oil
2 x 400g tins whole peeled tomatoes
1 bunch basil, leaves finely chopped
250g ricotta
150g mozzarella (plus extra for sprinkling)
1egg, lightly beaten
2 handfuls baby spinach shredded
375g fresh pasta sheets (I used a pack of 250g lasagne sheets)
100g parmesan, grated

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a ceramic baking dish.
2.Drizzle the pumpkin with the oil and roast in the dish until tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mash. Set aside to cool.
3. To make the sauce, place a medium-sized saucepan over high heat and add the tinned tomatoes and half the basil leaves. Season, to taste. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until reduced by one-third, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, egg, spinach and mashed pumpkin. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Lay out the pasta sheets and place 2tbsp of the pumpkin mixture in the base of each sheet and roll up into a tube. Lay each cannelloni in the baking dish. Top with the prepared sauce and grated parmesan.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for further 15 minutes.

Serve with a fresh green salad.

Allow to cool completely before chilling or freezing. The cannelloni will keep for 1 week in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.
If cooking from frozen, defrost overnight in the fridge. Cover with foil and bake in a 180C oven for 30 minutes until thoroughly reheated.

Disclosure: I received the MamaBake Book for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are my own.

Pimp My Rice by Nisha Katona + giveaway (E: 17 November 2017)

We often eat rice, and you will find a few different types of rice in our kitchen at any given time (mostly a couple of different basmati and risotto rice). I'm always on the lookout for new rice recipes, and could never resist a new cook book.
Celebrity chef, restauranteur and cookery writer Nisha Katona has a new 8 part BBC 2 show presented by Tom Kerridge coming out in early 2018 called The Finest in the Deli, where she will be one of two expert judges on each episode.
She has recently relaunched her book Pimp my Rice (publisher: Nourish Books, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited). Nisha Katona is often called a rice evangelist, and her passion for rice shines through every page of this cook book. She is the ultimate rice guru. Be prepared not to read her book on an empty stomach. It will rumble.
There are recipes to suit different styles - from meat-eaters to pescatarians to vegetarians.
The photographs are vibrant and mouth-watering (and I'd love to see a photo for each recipe too).

In the introduction Nisha mentions that she wrote this book because she felt rice needed to be celebrated. She thinks that" in the West rice is treated like a second-class citizen and that it is relegated to the realms of lacklustre side orders".
I tend to slightly disagree with that point of view. For example, in Italy risotto is one of the most glorified meals, a feast in itself, if cooked properly. The same goes for a humble rice pudding in the UK: its stodgy creaminess is back in vogue these days when cooked with a variety of dairy alternatives - almond or coconut milk. Each country probably has its own famous rice dish. Nothing of the 2nd-class citizen at all, in my opinion.
And Nisha definitely raises it to a Royal position. Her recipes are fun, jazzy and unconventional, she is not afraid to shock the purists.

Nisha gives a thorough description of cooking methods (to rinse or not to rinse, to soak or not to soak) and useful tips.
She cooks a wide selection of rice dishes from all around the world. There are not that many Eastern European recipes - two Hungarian and one Russian-inspired (I say inspired because the recipe is not an authentic Russian one. I've never come across blini made with brown rice in Russia. Buckwheat flour, yes, brown rice, not exactly).
Nisha has also put a personal twist on many classic dishes. I chuckled at her description of Zingy pineapple & anchovy arancini: "Okay, so this recipe might see Italian mammas crying into their ragu in horror..." and "Serve hot - but not to your Italian mother-in-law". Advice taken, Nisha, I won't be serving it to my Italian in-laws to spare their feelings.

The book is divided into chapters: Kick starts (Binged breakfasts), Light fantastics (starters, lunches & late-night munchies), Main grains (fantastic feasts from around the world), Souped-up sides (Super support acts) and Happy endings (the rice sweet elite).

I have bookmarked several recipes to try - like Peanut Ping Pongs (made with basmati and peanuts)...

Gin & tonic coriander salmon sounds like a fabulous recipe for entertaining and more formal dinners:

Hungarian & raisin rice cake looks luscious. I haven't tried it, but it reminds me of the Italian sweet pastries made with rice.

This is not a budget recipe book, as the author uses a lot of exotic ingredients.

I have cooked only one recipe from the book so far - Smoke my Squash (i.e. stuffed butternut squash). I have cooked different variations of this dish in the past (for example, see Roasted & Stuffed Butternut Squash with Brown Basmati, Quinoa and Goat's cheese). For Nisha's recipe you will need chorizo, sundried tomatoes, goats' cheese among the other ingredients, which all add up price-wise but if you don't count pennies or want to impress your guests, go for it.
It is very tasty, and I will be cooking it again. My Mum who is visiting us this month, loved it.

For a vegetarian version skip chorizo, and add more paprika for colour.
I have adapted Nisha's recipe, first of all by halving the amount of ingredients and slightly changing the method - see my tip on cooking the squash. I used only 1 squash, and that was definitely enough for 4-5 servings.

You will need:
1 medium to big butternut squash
2-3tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
60g chorizo, cubed
1/2 sweet red pepper
1/2tsp smoked paprika
a handful of sundried tomatoes, chopped
about 100g cooked rice (I used Tilda's jasmine rice)
goat's cheese, cubed (about 1/3 of a small log)
fresh parsley, chopped
smoked sea salt (optional)

It's not an easy task to cut a butternut squash with its hard skin. My tip is to wrap the squash in foil whole, and cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 180C. Take it out of the oven, let it cool a bit and then cut in half and scoop the seeds and fibres. Scoop out the inside to make a vessel for the stuffing. It will also then take less time to cook it stuffed.

Cube the squash which you have scooped out, and fry in the pan with the olive oil, chorizo, sliced pepper, minced garlic and paprika. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring.
Season the shells with salt and a bit of oil. I used smoked sea salt, as I love smoked flavours.
Stuff the open halves with the rice, and put back in the oven to cook for another 25 minutes. Add cubed goat's cheese on top in the last five minutes of cooking.
Add the chopped parsley before serving.

This book will appeal to more experienced cooks, or/and a trendier audience, with its mini-anecdotes accompanying the recipes and the title. I confess I'm not overly enthusiastic about the title - Pimp my Rice... I know it's the word widely used these days for almost anything, but it doesn't appeal to me personally. It also proves that I'm not with the In-crowd, and am an old fuddy-duddy.

Nisha is passionate about rice and is very enthusiastic in her desire to share her love of rice.
If you're looking for a gift for a foodie in your life, as a birthday present or for Christmas, this book will tick all the boxes.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this cook book for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are my own.

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If you like the sound of this book, here is your chance to win one of the copies of  this cook book. Lovely people from Watkins Media have offered a copy of Pimp My Rice by Nisha Katona as a giveaway prize for my blog readers.


To be in with a chance of winning, please enter via Rafflecopter form.

T&Cs:
The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.
Once the Rafflecopter picks the winner, I will contact them regarding address details, if they do not reply within 28 day, the prize will be allocated to another person.
Please don't forget to leave a comment, as it is the only mandatory step, I will make sure the winner selected by Rafflecopter has complied with T&Cs.
The prize will be posted by the publisher.
Giveaway ends on 17 November 2017 (midnight).


Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roasted and Stuffed Butternut Squash with Brown Basmati, Quinoa & Goat's Cheese

There are many reasons why people pick January to set up new resolutions. And then not stick to them, or stick for a little while to abandon later. I don't want to run with the crowd and have given up on taking resolutions a long time ago.
I do know it would be much better for me to cut down on caffeine, chocolate and generally reduce the calorie intake, but I also know that I won't stick to any particular plan. Ideally I'd love to lose some weight, so we'll see, but no resolutions...

If, however, you decided to eat healthier and get more fibre, you might have thought of alternative grains like quinoa. If you take brown rice, it houses more fibre than white rice, while quinoa wins with even higher content of fibre.
Quinoa has quite an acquired taste. While appreciating its health benefits, I am not that keen on pure quinoa. But if it is mixed with the other grains or rice, plus added vegetables, then the quinoa takes on their flavours.

Tilda rice has a selection of steamed basmati and quinoa like brown steamed basmati rice & quinoa, quinoa pumpkin & sunflower seeds steamed basmati rice as well as vegetables & quinoa.

Last week I have tried a wonderfully moreish recipe for Roasted and Stuffed Butternut Squash as created by Dr Sarah Schenker for the Tilda Genuine Goodness initiative. It was so delicious, that I am going to cook it again soon.

Roasted and Stuffed Butternut Squash (recipe courtesy of Tilda rice)
Serves 4
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 1 hour 15 mins
Ingredients:
1-2 pouches of Tilda TSB Wholegrain Roasted Vegetable or Wholegreain, Quinoa, Pumpkin & Sunflower
1 large butternut squash
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2tbsp butter
drizzle olive oil
75g walnut pieces, roughly chopped
200g goats cheese, diced or mashed
2tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or dried)
1tbsp honey

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190C. Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and soft fibres. Place on a baking tray, add the garlic and 1tbsp butter to each cavity. Drizzle with oil, season well and place in the oven. Bake for 60 minutes until the flesh is soft.
2. Scoop out some of the cooked flesh and juices into a large bowl, leaving a 1cm layer of squash attached to the skin so the squash keeps its shape.
3. Heat the rice according to pack instructions.
4. roughly mash the butternut, stir in the rice with the thyme, most of the walnuts and cheese, season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon the filling back into the squash halves and scatter the remaining cheese and walnuts.
6. Drizzle with honey and bake for another 15 minutes.
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Now that's how I cooked it. It's not very easy to cut a butternut squash, as it is pretty hard. The way I do it is wrap the squash in foil whole, and cook in the oven for half an hour at 180C. Take it out of the oven, let it cool and then cut in half and scoop the seeds and fibres. Much easier.
I then spread the minced garlic, olive oil and salt mix over the open halves, and put back in the oven to cook for another 25 minutes.
Take out of the oven, scoop the soft flesh into a bowl, leaving a 1cm rim around the squash, to make a container for squash and rice mix. Add the chopped walnuts, dried thyme, goats cheese and mix well. Ladle the contents back into the squash halves, back in the oven for 15 minutes. Drizzle with honey before serving.

The butternut squash I used was about 900g in weight, it wasn't big enough to use two pouches of Tilda rice. Depending on the size of the squash you choose and the number of people you are cooking, you might want to increase the amount of rice, or reduce it.

I used Tilda Brown Basmati & Quinoa which includes natural brown basmati rice, natural yellow and red quinoa, sunflower oil, vegetable stock powder (rice flour, salt, onions, parsnips, carrots, olive oil, turmeric, parsley). Like all Tilda products, it is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Quinoa adds a bit of crunch and nuttiness to the rice mix, but doesn't overpower it.

If quinoa doesn't rock your boat, any Tilda basmati rice would work in this recipe. We love the coconut flavoured basmati rice mixes from Tilda, and jasmine (dry rice, not steamed) is fabulous too.

You might have seen Tilda rice ads in the magazines recently. Just this weekend I spotted them in the Guardian and Observer magazines. They show brand new Genuine Goodness packaging, expressing all the goodness of naturally gluten-free, low GI basmati.
I like the new design of packaging, with stylised hands made of rice. The new designs are colourful and modern-looking.

For more hearty recipes and information on the Genuibe Goodness initiative, visit Tilda where you can download the Big Hearted cookbook, created by Sarah Schenker exclusively for Tilda.

Disclosure: I received a selection Of Tilda rice for the purposes of testing the recipe. All opinions are our own.

Squash risotto with crispy sage

National Vegetarian Week which runs this week of 18-23 May is actually in its 23rd year. And though we're not a vegetarian family, we do eat a lot of meat-free meals as well. Butternut squash risotto is one of my top favourite vegetarian dishes.
Usually I cook a risotto with the butternut squash, but today all the squashes were ginormous, so instead I got a round-shaped Queen squash, which has the similar amber-coloured sweet flesh.

Squash risotto with crispy sage
Ingredients:
1 Queen squash
1 onion
2tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
50g butter
200g arborio risotto rice
100ml white wine
2tbsp soured cream
1 mug of vegetable stock
1 tub of Giovanni Rana Butter & Sage pasta sauce
parmesan, grated
sage leaves, fresh


For the ease of handling, pre-bake the squash in the oven at 180C for half an hour. I was actually baking some potato Smiles for my sons, so put all the bits in the oven at the same time, and once the Smiles were off, I left the squash in the oven. It was still quite firm to the touch when I cut it into halves, scooped out the seeds, peeled and cubed the squash.
Finely chop the onion and fry in the deep frying pan for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chopped garlic, butter and arborio rice, and cook stirring for another 5 minutes. Add the wine, stir. Once the wine evaporates, keep adding ladles of the stock, keeping an eye on the rice absorbing the stock and adding more of it. Keep stirring. Add the soured cream and Butter & sage sauce.
Cook the risotto for about 20-25+ minutes, depending on how al dente you like your risotto.
Fry the fresh sage leaves in a bit of olive oil, until they turn crispy, but don't let them turn too dark.

Serve the risotto with crispy sage leaves on top, and grate a bit of parmesan (it's not a vegetarian cheese, but you can find a vegetarian version).

In this recipe I used Giovanni Rana Butter & Sage pasta sauce, which is a creamy pale sauce with a distinct sage flavour. It is a tasty pasta sauce, and could be used in a variety of recipes.

Sweet potato, butternut squash and coconut soup

Just the other day I mentioned the Knorr Flavour Pot - Product of the Year challenge. I have received a lovely hamper of foods including a full range of Knorr Flavour Pots, and have been using them in lots of different meals. For a meat-free Monday, I decided to cook a sweet potato, butternut squash and coconut soup.

Sweet potato, butternut squash and coconut soup
Ingredients:
1 big onion, finely chopped
2tbsp olive oil
180g red lentils
350g cubed sweet potato and butternut squash mix
1 carrot, sliced (about 100g)
1 Knorr Garlic flavour pot
1 Knorr Ginger & Lemongrass flavour pot
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
1/2tsp chilli paste
salt

Finely chop one big onion and fry it with the olive oil for about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a big pan put the lentils with the fried onion, cubed sweet potato and butternut squash mix, carrot, Knorr garlic flavour pot and Knorr Ginger & Lemongrass flavour pot, and chilli paste, pour enough water to cover all the vegetables and bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Add the coconut milk for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Season with a bit of sea salt. Blitz it with a hand blender. If the soup consistency is too thick, add a bit of boiled water.

This happened to be such a tasty soup that I am definitely going to cook it again. Sweet, spicy, zingy and full of flavours, a real comfort food.
Also after going out for dinner on Saturday and having guests over on Sunday, I didn't fancy anything too complicated. We all love soups, and this soup was a big hit.
Knorr flavour pots were very handy, and they turned a simple soup into a veritable feast, especially when served with a spoonful of soured cream and a chunk of sourdough bread.

Disclosure: I received a hamper of products and a gift card for the purposes of creating recipes with Knorr Flavour Pots. All opinions are mine.

If you fancy reading what the other foodie bloggers created with their hampers, may I bring your attention to
delicious Spicy bacon and chickpea soup as cooked by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews;
delectable Grilled Shetland Salmon with ginger and lemongrass as made by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary;
Emma aka Mellow Mummy cooked a delightful Thai Chicken Laksa with sweet chilli rolls; while
Jenny from Mummy Mishaps baked an incredible Chocolate and Chili Cake.

What will you cook with Knorr Flavour Pots?

Basmati and butternut squash layer cake (recipe for Tilda Mums Helping Mums campaign)

If you read my blog regularly, you know how often I mention Tilda rice. Tilda basmati is one of my kitchen staples, and I use it very often in numerous dishes, from soups to salads, from fish pies to jambalaya.

"Tilda rice is supporting the World Food Programme for the third year, with its Mums Helping Mums initiative. As you know, Tilda Mums Helping Mums campaign donates meals to mothers in Bangladesh, helping them give their unborn children the best start in life. Low birth weight can seriously affect babies’ physical and cognitive development, so vital nutrition is essential from the start.  So far, Tilda has donated over one million meals and with your help would like to continue to grow this number.

Following the success of Tilda's Mums Helping Mums Cookbook app last year, Tilda is updating it with even more exciting recipes from our favourite celebrities and mummy bloggers to help launch this year's campaign."

The recipe for Basmati and butternut squash layer cake I am sharing with you today is my submission for the cookbook app (ever so hopeful, me).

I have been inspired by the risotto layer cake I tried years ago in Italy. It definitely used the risotto rice, and I believe mascarpone cheese (I think it was mascarpone but it might have been ricotta) among many other ingredients. 

Basmati and butternut squash layer cake
Ingredients:
600g cooked Tilda basmati rice
1 big leek
2  cloves of garlic
3tbsp olive oil+
80ml white wine
1tsp wild rose el hanout spice mix
350g butternut squash, ready peeled and sliced
200g chestnuts, peeled (Merchant Gourmet, for example)
30g raisins
about 12 leaves of cabbage (big size)
200g lighter soft cheese
100g Cornish yarg
50g Stilton

Slice the leek finely and fry with 2tbsp of olive oil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped gralic and finely chopped chestnuts, spices and cubed butternut squash, raisins and wine. Cover with the lid and cook for 20 minutes until the squash is cooked. You might want to add a bit of water as well.
Set aside to cool a bit.
In the meantime cook the basmati rice, and again set aside, once done.
In a big pan of boiling salted water cook the cabbage leaves two at a time, remove them after 3 minutes carefully from the pan, and let them drain. You will need about 12 biggish cabbage leaves. I used the pointed variety, and actually bought two cabbages so that I had the leaves of about the same size.
Take a deep Pyrex dish or pie dish, oil it a bit, and line the cabbage leaves, overlapping, so that the whole dish is covered and the tips of leaves are over the edge.
Grate the Yarg cheese and crumble Stilton (you can use any other cheese, this is what I had in the fridge as leftovers which I wanted to use).
Add the soft cheese to the chestnut/squash mixture. Mix well. 
Put half of the cooked rice in the dish with cabbage leaves. Crumble the Stilton. Add half of grated Yarg. Spoon the chestnuts/squash/soft cheese over the rice. That's the second layer. Third layer - rice again topped with the remaining grated Yarg. Place a couple of cabbage leaves over the top and then fold over the cabbage leaves that were hanging over the dish (see the image above).
Cover the dish with the foil or lid (if you have one, mine has gone awol). Place the oven in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for half an hour.
Place a plate over the top and carefully turn the dish, so that the cabbage covered rice cake stays on the plate.

 Slice and serve hot.

Butternut squash cupcakes

If you receive Abel and Cole's veg boxes, you might be aware of their Recipe of the month competitions, when they challenge the entrants to reproduce one of their recipes and submit the photo. I won one of their competitions earlier this year, and received a lovely prize of the food ingredients for the next challenge. When I saw their recipe for Gourdgeous Little Cakes, I knew my guys would love it.
We love squash, the butternut squash in particular, and I often cook with it.

I have adapted the recipe (for the original recipe please follow the link above) and skipped the vanilla yogurt icing altogether.
As I bought a pack of pre-sliced butternut squash, I couldn't possibly grate it, instead I slightly oiled it with the olive oil and roasted in the oven preheated to 180C until soft, then just mashed it with the fork.
I have also added a generous glug of the Gourmet Mulling syrup from Selsley Foods instead of the ground cinnamon, and sprinkled the top of each cupcake with the Holland & Barrett's breakfast mix (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts), which my guys are happy to eat by a bucket.

It was a very successful batch, the cupcakes were moist, sweet and very moreish. It's not the first time I have used Abel and Cole's recipe, they have a great selection of recipes online, and you don't have to be a customer to have access to their recipes.

As Hallowe'en is approaching fast, and you might not be sure what to do with the pumpkin's flesh, once you carved it, why don't you try to bake these cupcakes with the pumpkins!