What to do when it's been a seriously crap day

Today has been utterly rubbish.  The unending, ongoing, relentless awfulness that only really happens in January; when it's wet and cold and you're tired and just when you think you've got everything under control and generally heading in the right direction, and you've tentatively started to feel optimistic about things, something else gets thrown at you.

Today my car had to go into the garage because the clutch failed yesterday (£600 worth of joy), the Very Tolerant Boyfriend got delayed in Gloucestershire which turned his 14 hour day into a 16 hour one, I fell down the stairs and finally our lawyers called this morning to tell us that EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD had gone wrong with our house purchase and our exchange on Friday was going to fall through.  Fortunately the Lawyer was wrong, but that's never the sort of voicemail you want to pick up and it took quite a lot of shouting from me and (mainly) the Very Tolerant Boyfriend, or as I suppose he's been promoted to, the Very Tolerant Fiancé,  to get it sorted out.

So we're till moving on Friday and this evening all we really wanted was some comfort food and a large drink.

So this evening while waiting for the Very Tolerant Fiancé to get back from his very long day, I knocked together something warm and soothing (while drinking a very large gin).

Slow cooked pork belly
Low on imagination and energy, I kept this as simple as possible.  I heated a tablespoon of oil in a casserole dish and placed the pork belly skin down in the hot oil.  I fried it for ten minutes until the skin crisped up and then flipped it back over, turned the heat off and when the oil had cooled added a bottle of cider (I used Thatchers), some sage, salt and pepper.  I then heated the oven to 180C and cooked for 30 minutes before reducing to 120C for another two hours.

Bourbon and maple baked beans
I got the idea for this from a slow cooked vegan recipe and completely bastardised it (spoiler - it's not vegan anymore).
1lb black beans (dried)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup coke
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tblsp maple syrup
1 packet lardons
1 cup water
2 tsp spice mix (really must write up the recipe for this at some point)
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp worcestershire sauce.
1 cup water
2 tbsp tomato puree

I had soaked the beans overnight, planning to make them in the slow cooker and then I had all the other rubbish to deal with today, so I skipped the slow cooking.

I fried the lardons off in the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish and then just threw everything else in and cooked it down for a couple of hours.  I have more beans than we will ever be able to eat, but I'm sure they freeze fine and they taste amazing

And then I served it all with some jacket sweet potatoes.  I'll probably need to run a couple of extra miles tomorrow but it was amazing.

Slow cooked Quinoa and Black Bean Chilli

This is really brilliant vegan chilli. Not least because you can just stick it in the slow cooker and leave it for three hours.

½ cup uncooked quinoa
15 oz can black beans
½ container 28 oz diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped red pepper
¼ cup chopped green pepper
1 shredded carrot
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ small chili pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
½ cup sweetcorn

Once I'd made it,  I opted to serve it as a burrito so I made up an easy guacamole with half an avocado, some chilli, salt and lemon juice smooshed together.

We had ours with yogurt and cheese,  but vegan substitutes could be used. 

Butternut squash and Lentil curry

This is a really hearty vegan meal. It's meant to be a slow cooker recipe, but it worked just fine making it this way.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons garam masala powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons vegetable oil,
1 large onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cans of diced tomatoes
6 cups water
2 cups red lentils
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed then cubed into 1" pieces
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Pop the diced butternut squash in the oven after tossing it in a little oil and some chilli flakes.  Roast until soft.

In a cast iron casserole dish, heat some oil and soften the diced onion with garlic and ginger. At the same time rinse off and sieve the lentils.

Add all the spices and the tomato puree to the onions and cook together until they start to caramelise. Then throw in the rest of the ingredients and cook together for 30-40 minutes or the lentils are tender.

Serve with chapatis and dressed with more coriander and some yogurt (or soy yogurt for vegans).

I forgot to take a picture of this because I was too busy eating it.  It was amazing.

Boozy bread and butter pudding

Today some lovely friends cooked an amazing Sunday Roast. I offered to take along some dessert, but I was a bit stumped for ideas until I remembered that I had frozen the left over berries from making the Christmas bramble whiskey.  So I just needed a suitable vehicle for whiskey sodden fruit.

I wanted something where the fruit was an added extra rather than the main ingredient, as I (fortunately) guessed that the fruit might be quite strong.  So I opted for a brioche bread and butter pudding.

1x loaf of brioche, sliced with the crusts cut off
600mls full fat milk
100mls double cream
2 oz sugar
4 x eggs
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Whiskey soaked fruit

Arrange the sliced bread in a greased pie dish, after completing each layer sprinkle on a little cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and a few (seriously not very many at all) whiskey berries. Then add the next layer. 

Continue like this until the dish is full.

Heat the milk and cream together but don't boil.  Separately whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale.  Add the cream/milk mixture to the eggs and sugar, stirring so add not to cook the eggs. Strain the custard and pour over the brioche layers.  Allow to sit for 30 minutes and then bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes.

Don't eat of you're driving.

Sunday night cocktails

I thought that while I wrote up some recipes from the last week, I might treat myself and the Very Tolerant Boyfriend to a Sunday night cocktail. 

We were given some homemade sloe gin for Christmas by one of friends, which I thought I would use as the base for a Sloe Fizz. My Christmas sloe gin was slightly sweeter than I'm used to so I upped the lemon juice content to compensate.

15 ml sloe gin
15 ml gin
15 ml lemon juice

Shake over ice and pour into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top up with sparkling wine.

Courgette 'pasta' spicy tomato sauce

So after a terribly decadent weekend in London where we ate all the meat; including amazing roast bone marrow, a spectacular chateaubriand, the best crackling either of us has ever eaten, a veal heart, we needed to get back on the healthy eating for a while.

This evening we experimented with pasta made from spiralised courgette ribbons.  After the courgette was ribboned we fried it with a tiny smidge of butter.

The sauce was simply some diced onions, red peppers, a tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, a couple of tablespoons of red wine, garlic, some diced chorizo and some green peppers cooked until thickened.

Non pasta, pasta bake

So things took an unexpected turn last week which postponed our cooking plans a little bit. We're back on track with the vegetarian cooking with this non pasta, pasta bake.  The original recipe called for spaghetti squash which I've never been able to find in the UK,  so I substituted with some butternut squash which I spiralised into squash noodles.  

This worked really well and then I cheated on a second meal by using the leftovers to make burritos.

1x butternut squash spiralised
1x courgettes diced
1x carrot diced
1x onion diced
2x clove garlic minced
1x bottle passata
1x ball mozzarella
1x cup grated parmasan
1x tsp oregano
1x tsp  Italian herbs

Mix the veg and spices together loosely with your hands.  Pour over the passata, then top with the cheeses and some grated pepper. Bake in the oven for 45 mins at 180C.

The Very Tolerant Boyfriend topped his with a fried egg.

Butternut Squash Curry Soup

After being away working for a couple of days I'm back on the soup wagon. I've got to be truthful.  I wasn't massively impressed with today's offering.  It had the potential to be great, but it just fell short.  In the end I had to stir three dessert spoons of spice mix (secret recipe) into in. I think if I were to make it again I would add some garlic as well.

1x butternut squash
1x onion
3x celery stalks
2x tbsp curry powder
1x tsp cumin
1x tsp coriander
1x tsp turmeric
1x tsp salt
1x tin coconut milk light
Chopped coriander to garnish.

Peel and dice the squash before oven roasting with some salt and oil at 180C for 20 mins or until soft.

Dice the onion and cook off in the some oil until soft. Add the spices and some water, then the diced celery and cook for ten minutes.  Add the roasted butternut squash, the tin of coconut milk and 1 cup of water.  Cook together for 20minutes then blend and stir through a handful of chopped coriander.

Like I said, it was ok.  But not as good as it should have been.

Post Pilates Pesto (soup)

The month of veg seems to be going well so far and this post pilates, first day back at work after the holidays contribution to the experiment was particularly good.  Exactly what was required on a cold, miserable, wet night. The Very Tolerant Boyfriend's brother gave him some really delicious sicilian pesto at Christmas which made this soup really special.

1x red onion (diced)
1x clove garlic (diced)
2x large carrots (peeled and diced)
1x large leek (sliced)
2x cans butter beans (drained and rinsed)
1lb red potatoes (peeled and diced)
1x sprig rosemary
1x ltr vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
2x tsp pesto
200g spinach

Soften the onion, garlic and leek in some olive oil for 5-6 minutes. Add the stock and the diced carrots and potatoes and the drained beans with the rosemary, salt and pepper.  Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through (15-20 mins).

Once the potatoes are cooked stir in the pesto and then add the spinach.  Leave the spinach to wilt and then stir in. Remove the rosemary stalk and serve.

Sweet Potato and black bean burritos

This was a delicious and very filling meal. It was very well received by the Very Tolerant Boyfriend and will definitely be made again.

We de-veganised ours with a scattering of cheese,  but this could easily be left out.

Take two sweet potatoes, peel and cut into bite sized pieces.  Shake with a tablespoon of oil and scatter over a pinch of chilli flakes.  Roast for 35 to 45 mins at 180C or until soft.

While the sweet potato is in the oven make the sauce.  Dice a red onion and soften in a little olive oil.  Add in 2.5 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of paprika and a diced red pepper and cook until soft.  Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tin of black beans and a cup of sweetcorn.  Cook together until it has reduced to a thick sauce.

Take a wholemeal wrap and place pieces of the sweet potato down the centre.  Spoon the sauce over this and if you want sprinkle with a little sauce. Fold the edges in and roll into a burrito.

Caribbean Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

I've been really getting into the groove with the vegetable based/vegetarian/vegan diet thing.  The rules have been adapted so that I can still eat meat when we're eating out which I think pretty definitively proves that I couldn't ever become vegetarian full time.

This has been my favourite of the vegetable soups so far and I suspect will become a staple in our house.

2x sweet potatoes
3x carrots
3x tomatoes
2x red peppers
2x red onions
2x tbsp olive oil
1x tbspn grated ginger
1x tbspn smoked paprika
1x tsp cumin
1x tin light coconut milk
1x bay leaf
3/4 cup water
salt and pepper

Chopped coriander and a wedge of lime to garnish

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into pieces.  Peel and quarter the red onions and deseed

and quarter the red peppers.  Toss in oil and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes at 180C.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Combine the rest of the  ingredients in a pan, add the cooled roasted vegetables and bring to the boil.  Simmer gently for 10 minutes and then let the flavours develop for 20 minutes. Blend together using a hand blender.

This will serve six.

In this as we had a really late breakfast so the soup has been packed up for lunch tomorrow and the rest has gone in the freezer for the next time I can't be bothered to cook.  Hopefully some delicious spicy soup should ease the pain of going back to work a little bit.

Friday night curry

Still sticking to the vegetarian/vegan challenge I cracked into the Friday night curry series with a dhal. This is a great store cupboard meal that's cheap and easy, which tastes just as great in the second day.  Which is just as well, as it's on the menu for lunch tomorrow (spoiler). I made enough for six and served it with wholemeal chapattis.

2 x red onions (diced (
6x tomatoes
400g red lentils
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp nigella seeds
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
200g spinach
20g coriander

Soak the lentils while you start in the rest of the curry.

Fry of the onion in the heated oil with a large punch of salt until browned then add the minced garlic and cook until softened.  Add all the spices and cook until fragrant.  I needed to add some water at this point to stop it sticking.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until it has reduced to a thick sauce.  Drain and rinse the lentils and stir then into the tomato/spice mixture.  Add enough water to cover the lentils,  put the lid on and simmer until the lentils are tender.  Stir through most of the chopped coriander and then add the spinach and replace the lid until the spinach has wilted. Stir through the wilted spinach and serve with a further sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Spicy slow cooker cashews. Not cake.

These are about as brilliant as a tasty non cake snack gets.  They're really easy to make and you only need to eat about three of them. You just throw everything into the slow cooker, stir really well so all the nuts are coated and then leave for about an hour and a half.

The result are beautifully toasted spicy cashew nuts.

3 cups of raw cashews
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt

January. Vegetables and soup

After the excesses of December and Christmas the desire to cram all the vegetables in my mouth has got too much.  So the Very Tolerant Boyfriend and I have decided to have a largely vegetarian/vegan January.

Hopefully this will challenge me to get out of my cooking rut as well as lose the extra Christmas poundage. We started off with a sweet potato and red pepper spicy soup.

1lb sweet potatoes
2x red peppers
1x red onions
Tbsp olive oil
Clove garlic minced
Pinch dried chilli flakes
500 mls veg stock
Paprika and sour cream to garnish

Peel and dice the potatoes before roasting for 30 mins or until soft.
Roughly chop the onions, peppers and sweat with the garlic and chilli flakes in a little oil until soft. Add the roasted potatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and then blend with a hand blender.  Blend until smooth. Feel free to add more water if the consistency is too thick.

Serve with a sprinkling of paprika and and splash of sour cream. No sour cream for the vegans.