Phoebe's chowder

My daughter loved this soup so much she insisted it had to be named after her! It was a big hit, although the little guy needed his sieving as he hates the corn skins in it.

50g shell-less prawns
100g mussel meat
1 large tin sweet corn (or a cup or two)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
2-3 medium potatoes, scrubbed or peeled and diced
1.5 litres stock
Large dash of milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients except the milk or cream and salt and pepper into a crock pot. Make sure the mussels are beard free! Cook on low for 6 hours. Add the dash of milk or cream and blend (you can leave it partly or completely whole if you prefer). Check the seasoning and serve with chopped parsley on top if you are feeling fancy!

The amounts and types of shellfish are pretty arbitrary. Just add what is available. Blending them into soup gets all sorts of interesting sea foods past small children!

Roman lentil soup

This is a recipe from Nourishing Traditions. We all really liked it - I can see it becoming a regular fixture.

1 cup red lentils (soaked for 7 hours)
2 leeks or onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 litre stock (beef or chicken - or veg if you are vegetarian)
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp crushed green peppercorns
Fish sauce or sea salt to taste
Splash of lemon juice or whey
Creme fraiche to serve (optional)

Gently fry the leeks and carrots in the butter and olive oil for half an hour. Add the stock and lentils and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam that rises and then reduce heat. Add the thyme and peppercorns and simmer for another half hour. Liquidize and stir through the lemon juice or whey. Season to taste and serve with creme fraiche.

Beetroot soup

Yes, again with the soups. It is definitely getting colder here!

Couple of large beetroots
Onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 tbsp butter
Water
Salt
Creme fraiche

Peel and chop the beetroots. Add them and the onion to the butter and saute gently for about 15 minutes. Then add water - cover them and then about half as much again. Season and simmer until the beetroot is soft and cooked. Puree and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

I love this soup. It is very simple and tasty and a great colour - just don't wear white when you eat it! You can also use this soup as a test of your stomach acid - if you pee pink afterwards then you are not producing enough HCl. On the plus side pink pee is pretty cool!

Leek and potato soup

I love soups so as soon as the weather goes colder I have them at least one meal a day.

1 onion
2 tbsp butter
2 medium/large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
2 pts stock (I use chicken and add a little bit of cooked chicken to the soup too but vegetable stock is fine)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cream for serving (optional)

Saute the veggies in the butter gently for a few minutes. Then add the stock and simmer until they are all cooked through. Season to taste and puree before serving with a swirl of cream.

Curried squash soup

1 small squash, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1-2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 tsp curry powder (or to taste)
1 pint stock (chicken or vegetable would be best)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the squash and onion on a greased baking tray and roast until the edges are just starting to blacken (gives a roasted flavour to the soup - you can skip this step if pressed for time and just simmer the soup until the veg is cooked). Place the veg and stock in a pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Put the curry powder in a dry frying pan and heat until it starts to turn a little darker and smells good. Add to the soup and season. Blend and serve - a swirl of yogurt is nice in this.

Bean and bacon soup, toad in the hole

Breakfast

For the kids: peanut butter on toast; glass of raw goats milk
For me: another smoothie!

Lunch

Bean and bacon soup
2-3 rashers smokey bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp lard
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/4 cabbage, finely chopped
1 - 1 1/2 pts chicken stock
1 tin cannelini beans (or a cup or so of soaked and cooked beans if you are more organised than me!)

Fry the bacon and onion in the lard for a few minutes. Add the other ingredients and simmer until the veggies are soft.


Dinner




Toad in the hole, asparagus cooked with butter and coconut oil and steamed broad beans. Followed by Yorkshire pud spread with jam and fresh strawberries.

Toad in the hole
(serves 4)
Yorkshire pudding batter
4-8 sausages (depending on how hungry every one is - I used 5, two for me and one each for the little ones)
suet, beef dripping, lard, butter or coconut oil (anything you can heat really!)

Heat the oven to 400oF. Put a little fat into each Yorkshire pudding tin (or you can use a cake tin, or even a Pyrex dish but individual tins are nice). Prick the sausages and divide them between the tins. Put them in the oven and bake them for 10 minutes. Take them out and give the batter a quick whisk. Pour over half the batter and return them to the oven until they are risen and brown. I usually put the other half of the batter in the oven for afters as I serve dinner. You can add fruit or spices to the batter if you like, or just cook it as is and spread with jam.

Toad in the hole goes amazingly with onion gravy.

Chocolate smoothie, mushroom soup, orange baked mackrel, samphire grass

Breakfast
For the kids: Breakfast cake
For me: chocolate kefir smoothie

Chocolate smoothie
1 cup kefir
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 tbsp kefir grains (if you have spare ones around - I don't yet)
1 large ripe banana (or two small)
1/2 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Blend and enjoy! Next time I am going to try adding mint leaves too. I bet orange would be tasty as well... I got the recipe from here.

Lunch

Cream of mushroom soup
Onion, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil or butter (or a mix)
250g mushrooms, quartered
2 sticks of celery
2-3 cups stock
1/2 -1 cups milk or cream

Fry the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the celery and mushrooms and cook for a minute or two. Add the stock, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Blend using a stick blender until you get the consistency you like (I like it slightly chunky, kids like it perfectly smooth). Add the cream or milk and blend again.

Dinner

Orange baked mackerel with samphire grass and new potatoes.

Orange baked mackerel
4 mackerel, headed, gutted and cleaned
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 oz butter, softened
Small onion, very finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Season fish. Mix the orange juice and zest with the butter. Add the onion and stir in. Divide the mixture between the mackerel and place inside the cavity. Wrap each fish in a tin foil parcel and pinch the edged closed to keep the juices in. Bake in a preheated over for about half an hour.

Samphire grass
Thoroughly wash the samphire and discard the roots. Blanch in a pan of boiling water for 3-4 minutes and serve tossed in olive oil and a little butter with lemon wedges.

breakfast cake, coconut chicken soup, pigeon pie

Breakfast



For me - banana coconut smoothie
For the kids - Breakfast cake

Breakfast cake
(makes 9 kid portions, 6 adult)
4-5 cups oatmeal or rolled oats
1-2 cups yogurt
4 eggs
1 tbsp - 1 cup sweetener to taste (I use a tablespoon of whole sugar or maple syrup)
3/4 cup coconut oil or melted butter
1-2 cups milk or cream (or a mix)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp baking powder
1-2 cups fruit (fresh, dried or frozen - I used frozen raspberries today)
1 mashed ripe banana

Soak oats overnight in yogurt and 1-2 cups warm water overnight. Add a tbsp of freshly ground wheat if possible. If I am using rolled oats I put the mixture through the blender. You don't have to - if you use just the oats you get a lovely custardy base with a cakey oat topping, blending gives a more consistent texture.
Preheat oven to gas mark 4. Mix eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla, baking powder and spice. Add milk and mix. Add the fruit and the oats and mix well. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake for an hour until set.

This recipe is very fluid - you can mess with just about all the ingredients and amounts depending on what you have around and it is still great. It freezes well and is nice as a cold snack.


Banana coconut smoothie

From eat fat lose fat

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup whole coconut milk
2 tbsp maple syrup (I leave this out - waaaay too sweet for me otherwise)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Process in a blender until smooth. Add water to get the right thickness. Enjoy!


Lunch

Coconut chicken soup

This is from Eat Fat Lose Fat.
Serves 4
1 can whole coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup brown rice (optional)
1/4 tsp crushed red chillis
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp salt or 1 tbsp thai fish sauce
1 tsp natural sugar (I leave this out - I like the soup slightly tart)
Juice of 1 lemon or two limes
1 tbsp fresh basil leaves
1 cup chopped chicken (cooked or raw)

Place all ingredrients but the chicken into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for abot 1 1/2 hours, or until rice is cooked (if not using rice, simmer for about 30 minutes). Add the chicken 15 minutes before serving.
Be careful when simmering this - it boils over really easily. I find it best to take it off the heat after it boils, reduce the heat to the minimum, then put the pan back.


Dinner

Pigeon pie

1lb chuck steak
10 pigeon breasts
Seasoned flour and cooking fat (I used beef dripping)
4 oz bacon or ham, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, thickly sliced
8 oz flaky pastry *
1 1/2 pints good stock
dash Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to gas mark 4/350 oF/ 180 oC
Dice the steak and coat in seasoned flour. Brown in the cooking fat and place in the bottom of a large pie dish. Next layer the pigeon breasts on top, then the bacon or ham, then eggs. Season with salt and pepper and add a little parsley if possible. Pour on two tbsp if water. Then top with the flaky pastry, leaving a hole in the middle (I put a china blackbird into mine because it amuses the kids! Shame it ended up at a drunken angle). Bake for two hours in a moderate oven.
Before serving, pour a little boiling stock, which has had the Worcestershire sauce added to it, into the pie. Traditionally served with potatoes and veg.

*Flaky pastry - cheats version!

4oz butter
6oz plain flour
pinch salt

Weight out the butter and put it in the freezer for about half an hour. When it is cold and hard, put the flour into a mixing bowl and grate the butter over it, using a course grater. Then mix the butter around in the flour using a palette knife - coating the fat with flour. Add two tbsp of cold water and continue to mix with the knife for as long as possible (the heat of your hands is not good for pastry). Keep adding water a little at a time until the pastry comes together in a ball that is not sticky and there is no flour left in the bowl. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour before use. Freezes very well. This recipe makes enough for two pigeon pies.

I don't often use white or unsoaked flour in our meals, but occasionally I do a pastry with it. I do have some great wholemeal, soaked pastry recipes but every so often it is nice to indulge.

Broccoli and peanut soup, Lentil Dal, Parathas, Raitha

Breakfast

Eggs scrambled with coconut oil, butter and milk

Lunch

Broccoli and peanut soup
Serves 4
Large head of broccoli
Onion
Pint of stock (I use chicken but vegetable would do)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons peanut butter
Dash of cream

Peel and chop onion. Saute in the butter. Wash and chop broccoli and add to pan when onion is softened. Add stock and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Add peanut butter and blend. Add a swirl of cream to the bowls when serving.
Variation - if you have no stock then use a pint of milk instead and leave out cream.

Popular with my kids as long as I call it peanut butter soup and forget to mention the broccoli!


Dinner

Lentil dal with parathas and cucumber raitha

Dal
Serves 4
7 oz red split lentils or puy lentils (washed and soaked overnight)
1 1/2 pints water
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2oz ghee or unsalted butter
Onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground corriander
1 fresh green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
salt and pepper

Drain lentils and transfer to large saucepan. Add water and tumeric and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum that comes to the surface and simmer on a low heat for 1-1 1/2 hours, until lentils are tender and mushy.
Heat ghee/butter and fry onion and garlic until soft and browned. Add spices and chilli and cook until they smell wonderful (2-3 minutes). Stir onions into lentils and add salt and pepper to taste. If using red lentils you can stir them up to a mushy paste if you like, or leave them more intact.

Paratha
Serves 4 , or one of my kids!

6oz wholemeal flour (preferably fresh ground)
6 1/2 oz plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
About 10 tablespoons coconut oil or melted ghee
7 fl oz water

Mix flours and salt in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and rub in until it looks like course breadcrumbs. Add the water a bit at a time until you have a soft ball (takes 5-7 oz usually). Turn out onto a clean surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Rub with 1/4 tsp oil and cover with plastic. Leave for at least 3 hours.
Put a large cast iron frying pan over a medium-low heat. Divide dough into 12 equal balls. Using flour where needed, roll the first ball out into a 6 inch circle. Brush half of the circle with 1/4 tsp of the oil and fold in half. Brush the top with a little more oil and fold again. Roll out again into a triangle with 7 inch sides. Place in frying pan and brush the top with 1tsp oil. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side - the parathas should have reddish brown spots on them. When they are cooked, put them on a plate with another plate inverted over the top, or cover with tin foil.

Cucumber raitha

300 ml natural yogurt
1/4 Grated cucumber
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp mint sauce

Toast cumin seeds in a dry frying pan until darker brown and aromatic. Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit in the fridge a while for the flavours to combine.

No pics today - it all got eaten too fast!