Traditional English Parsley Sauce...

Feeling confident after my triumph with a basic beurre blanc sauce, I decided to try my hand at a traditional English parsley sauce. This is a tasty sauce to have with white fish or salmon cakes and we enjoyed it very much with some smoked gammon. Essentially it’s a basic white sauce with the addition of freshly chopped parsley. When researching recipes I found that many didn’t include a squeeze of fresh lemon juice but it really gives the sauce added zing. I wouldn’t make the sauce without it now!

There is nothing quite like going out to the garden to gather fresh herbs to cook with. Parsley grows quite easily and makes a lovely addition to any garden. If you don’t already grow your own herbs then it’s definitely worth giving it a go! Check out this site for some amazing gardening tips.

Parsley, one of my all time favourite herbs is full of taste and great health benefits. Among other things it has Vitamin C, Iron and is also an excellent source of Vitamin K, Vitamin A and Folate. Try adding it to salads, burgers, omelettes, fresh juices and soups. You can even sprinkle it on pasta and rice dishes as well as over pretty much anything!

So if you want something special to accompany your fish dish or gammon then look no further! This parsley sauce from the Good To Know Recipes website is a real winner!

Here is the recipe from their brilliant site:

Parsley Sauce

Ingredients

• 425ml full fat milk

• Bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped (but keep the stalks)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/4 onion, thickly sliced

• 5 peppercorns

• Pinch of nutmeg

• 20g plain flour

• 40g butter

• Squeeze of lemon juice

• Salt and pepper to season

Directions

1. Put the milk, parsley stalks, bay leaf, onion, peppercorns and nutmeg in a heavy-bottomed pan.

2. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then remove from the heat and allow to go cold. This will help to infuse the milk before making the sauce.

3. Slowly melt the butter in another saucepan. Add the flour and stir continuously for a minute so that you cook out the raw flour flavour. Remove from the heat.

4. Strain the milk through a sieve to remove the infusing ingredients and slowly add the milk to the butter and flour mixture. Keep combining a little more milk every few seconds until you’ve added it all. You should now have a thin, lump-free sauce.

5. Return the pan to the heat and stir the sauce until it starts to thicken. This will take about 5 minutes.

6. Once it’s thick, remove from the heat. Add the chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

7. Serve your parsley sauce with salty roast gammon and new potatoes, crispy fishcakes or grilled white fish.

Enjoy!

Parsley Sauce

Red Bean Veggie Burgers: Everything A Veggie Burge...

Every so often I get a craving for a really well made veggie burger. Unfortunately my experience in ordering such a thing from restaurants has usually resulted in bitter disappointment and regret at not ordering the steak. The reason being is that most of the restaurant style veggie burgers I have had have either been:

• Greasy heavily processed lumps that sit unhappily in my stomach for days.

• Dry overcooked burgers that resemble month old cow pats and taste like saw dust.

This never made sense to me. When you think of all the wonderful vegetables, fresh herbs and spices at our disposal why do so many restaurants struggle to make a decent vegetable burger! Surely it can’t be that difficult?

Luckily for me my best friend Jessica is a Kitchen Witch and Gardener Extraordinaire. I am always in awe of what she grows in her garden and what she effortlessly whips up in the kitchen. A few months ago she sent me a recipe for red bean veggie burgers which she adapted from the well known and much loved cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I have now made her version of this recipe a few times and it just keeps on getting better and better. This is exactly what I have been searching for in a well made vegetable burger.

These are great to make on a Sunday and I am in the habit of making extra and freezing them for the week. They can be taken out in the morning for an easy dinner that night and they also make for a tasty filling lunch. All that’s needed is a bit of reheating which I tend to do in the oven. I serve them with cheese and pickles OR with hummus, red peppers and garden salad. Delicious!

I have reprinted her recipe exactly as she sent it to me. Here it is:

Jessica’s version of Red Bean Veggie Burgers  (we usually double/triple the recipe and freeze some)

Heat in a large skillet on medium heat:
2 teaspoons olive oil

Add and cook, stirring until softened:
1/2 cup chopped onions • 2 minced garlic cloves

Add and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes:
2 cups grated courgette (and/or carrots)
1 tsp chili powder • 1 tsp ground cumin

Meanwhile mash in a large bowl:
3 cups cooked kidney beans • 2 Tbs mustard
2 Tbs catsup (ketchup) • 2 Tbs Worcestershire or soy sauce

Add the vegetable mixture to the mashed beans and mix in:
1.5 cups oats
Various garden herbs (parsley, thyme, chives, etc.)

(We used Chives, Parsley and Chervil)

Mix it all together

Season to taste with salt and pepper

Wet hands and shape resulting gooey goodness into
patties.

Fry the patties in oil over medium heat, or place
on cookie sheet and broil for 5-8 minutes on each side.

Frying yields a crispier patty, while broiling gives a
drier, less oily one.

You can also bake them in the oven
at 400F (200C or Gas Mark 6)

These burgers freeze well and can be reheated
on the stove top, in the oven, or on the grill.

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, 1996

My cookbook wish list

Thanks to both my sister and my friend Jessica I have been able to tick a few books off my cookbook wish list!
As I posted last week my sister gave me the new cookbook from Fresh – REFRESH which is such a wonderful book. This week I will be trying out Susur Lee’s Smoothie.

Jessica brought a huge smile to my face when just a few days before Christmas a lovely parcel arrived with 2 wonderful books nestled inside. One of them was another top priority book on my list The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health. I am not sure what my first recipe will be from this book but I am sorely tempted to try the Baked Sweet Potatoes Stuffed Three Ways.

These books will keep me busy for some time as they really all packed full of lots of exciting recipes to try. I hope you will keep checking back in to see what I make and hopefully to try some of these recipes for yourself!

Bruschetta: A Delicious Half Time (Or Anytime) Tre...

Like many people this summer I will be watching the World Cup. I am not an avid football fan but I do enjoy the bigger matches and the World Cup is always exciting. During the England vs. USA game we needed some cheering up after Robert Green allowed the Americans to score an easy goal.

During the half time I decided to make a quick and easy bruschetta. This recipe is slightly different from traditional bruschetta recipes as I didn’t heat the tomato mixture before spreading it on the bread, but it is still full of flavour and goes very nicely with a chilled beer. We had Maple Moon Ale, an award winning ale from Joseph Holt’s Derby Brewery.

After our half time treat we felt slightly better about the match. We didn’t score another goal, but we didn’t allow another goal in either – which is something.

Luna Raye’s Half Time Or Anytime Bruschetta.

(If you want to make this at half time make sure you put the oven on 10 – 15 minutes in advance. So approximately 30 – 35 minutes into the first half of the match)

Ingredients

15 – 20 organic cherry or plum tomatoes.

1 clove of garlic, minced.

1 banana shallot finely chopped. (You can use any shallot but I prefer banana shallots as they are milder)

3 – 4 Tablespoons freshly chopped herbs. (I used Parsley, Coriander, and Sage) I would have loved to use some of my Basil but it’s struggling at the moment.

Pinch of sea salt.

Black pepper to taste.

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

2 – 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

1 small baguette cut lengthways and then halved.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Place the cut baguette slices on a baking sheet and put in oven to slightly toast them. (You can brush a little virgin olive oil on them at this stage if you wish).

While the baguette slices are gently toasting in the oven. Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a medium sized bowl.

Add the minced garlic and chopped shallot and mix well.

Add the sea salt and some black pepper and gently blend in the chopped mixed herbs.

Take the baguette slices out of the oven and spread the tomato mixture liberally over each slice.

Finish with a light drizzle of virgin oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Place back in the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the Parmesan has melted and the tomato mixture is slightly bubbling.

Keep a close eye on them as you don’t want them to burn.

They should be on the plate by the start of the 2nd half (although it does help to have a kitchen assistant to speed things along!)

Happily serves 2.

Half Time or Any Time Bruschetta

My Poor Basil

Beltane Celebration: Get Out In Nature And Don’t...

Despite the dark gloomy clouds and bouts of torrential rain we had in most parts of the UK we still managed to have a wonderful Beltane weekend. Beltane is the Celtic festival of fire and light and it is celebrated on April 30th – May 1st.

It’s a wonderful time of year. The days are lengthening, flowers and plants are starting to blossom and bloom, butterflies and bees are making an appearance in the garden and everyone has a slight spring in their step.

One of the best ways to celebrate this time of year is to get outside in nature. Whether it’s a walk around the block, a 10 mile hike, a visit to your local park or even just pottering around in your garden, make the effort to get out doors. This weekend I stayed away from my computer and spent as much time as I could (rain permitting) in the garden.

We sowed some seeds, Rocket (Arugula) which is a wonderful peppery salad leaf and some Genovese Basil. My mouth is already watering in anticipation of a Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Salad. The pots are all lined up in our little greenhouse and we hope to see some spouting soon.

Last year we bought some herbs from our local farmers market and they have really taken off. I have really enjoyed being able to cook with fresh Sage, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme and Tarragon. This year we decided to add a few more herbs to our garden; Coriander, Curly Parsley and Apple Mint. Although we had problems previously growing tomatoes and chillies we thought we’d have a go at some sugar snap peas. Our not so very green fingers are crossed!

Beltane is also a very special time for working with Fairies. There are many things you can do to honour them and show your commitment to nature:

• Look into recycling schemes.
• Support animal and environmental charities.
• Buy more organic produce.
• If you’re in a park or on a hike and you see some litter then (if it isn’t too disgusting) pick it up and dispose of it properly.
• Give away unwanted clothing and goods to charity.
• Use gentler more natural cleaners in the home instead of harsh scary chemicals.

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to honour the Fairies and to celebrate this wonderful time of year is to get off the couch, get away from the computer or television and go outside! You may also want to leave a little treat for Nature’s Angels as a thank you for all their hard work.

For the Garden Fairies I like to put out seeds (sunflower and pumpkin are good) as well as chopped fruit (apples, pears, plums, blackberries and blueberries). For my House Fairy I like to leave out some milk and honey or mead as well as something sweet like organic chocolate, cookies or cake. If you have an animal companion please make sure they can’t get at any Fairy Treats you leave out, chocolate is toxic to many animals but especially to dogs.

The leaving of a gift is a lovely way to acknowledge the Fairies and thank them for their continual help in watching over your garden and plants, protecting your home and animal companions, and to celebrate the beauty and abundance of nature. Breathe some fresh air, listen to the birds and don’t forget the Fairies!

Fairy and Violets

Sage, Lemon Thyme, Rosemary and Tarragon

White Bean and Vegetable Soup....

It’s easy to get stuck in the cooking comfort zone. It has happened to me many times. I suddenly realize I have a weekly rotation of the same (or very similar) dishes and it’s been ages since I tried anything new. While it’s great to enjoy your favourite meals it’s also important to branch out and try new ingredients, a variety of cuisines and different cooking techniques.

You really don’t know what you’ve been missing until you’ve tried it and for me cook books are a wonderful source of inspiration. I could look at them all day! For Christmas a friend bought my husband and I Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen. It is a great book full of recipes from around the world.

What caught our eye right away was a recipe for White Bean and Vegetable Soup (see Gordon in action here). This was such an easy dish to make and it was packed full of flavour. The sprinkling of feta on top is a nice touch, adding saltiness and a lovely creamy texture to the soup.

We have already selected more recipes to try and are determined to make our way through the whole book. Cook books are a great way to increase your cooking repertoire and bring a bit more inspiration into your kitchen!