Spicy veggie lasagne (Serves: 6, prep time: 20 mins, cooking time: 50 minutes)

I think it's time for me to consult the thesaurus because this is another dish that I refer to as 'hearty'! I do like substantial meals :)  The underlying spices in this lasagne add a subtle depth and the chickpeas create a great texture.

1 red onion, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, diced finely
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbspn tomato puree
50g brown rice
1 small glass white wine

25g butter

25g wholemeal flour

300ml mlk

1tsp wholegrain mustard

60g cheddar cheese, grated

200g fresh spinach or broccoli
3 diced courgettes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
handful of chopped, fresh oregano
5g fresh mint, diced finely

250g wholewheat lasagne



Fry onion, garlic, chilli and spices on a low heat until the onion starts to go transparent.

Add the chopped tomatoes, brown rice and tomato puree and simmer for 20 minutes. 

After about 15 minutes, prepare the cheese sauce:
melt the butter, remove from the heat, stir in the flour, gradually stir in the milk. put back on the heat and warm gently but do not boil, add the mustard and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Set aside. 

To the tomato mixture, add the spinach, courgettes, chickpeas and oregano, stir well and remove from the heat.

in a dish, (I use a pyrex dish that is about 12" x 8" and 2" deep), put a thin layer of the tomato mixture, topped with a layer of wholewheat lasagne sheets, then layer on the cheese sauce. Continue to build in this way, finishing with a layer of cheese sauce.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 180.

Veggie Creole Gumbo (Serves 6 - 8; 20 minutes prep; 40 minutes cooking)

This spicy, hearty bowl of wholesomeness has a delicious balance of flavour and spice.

1 onion, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2" ginger, grated 
1 scotch bonnet chilli, diced finely

2 aubergines, diced
2 sweet potatoes, diced
2 red peppers, diced
2 courgettes, diced

450ml stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
150g okra, sliced (and tops removed)

2 x 400g tins black eyed beans
80g fresh coriander, chopped

Fry onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a little olive oil.

Add the diced aubergine, sweet potato, red pepper and okra and stir fry until slightly browned.

Add the stock, tomatoes, white wine vinegar, tomato puree and okra and simmer for 30minutes.

Add the black eyed beans and coriander and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Lamb and flagelot bean stew (serves 5, prep time: 15 mins, cooking time: 90 mins)

This is very comforting and tasty as the nights draw in and the temperatures decline. I love to cosy up with a tasty, warming stew!

400g lamb rump steak, diced
2 medium-sized onions, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, sliced finely

Worcestershire sauce

150ml red wine

300ml stock

400g chopped tomatoes (1 tin)

800g flagelot beans (2 tins)
2 large carrots, diced
250g mushrooms, diced
1 celeriac, peeled and diced
1 tbsp tomato puree
Fresh thyme (salt & pepper if desired)



Roll the lamb rump in seasoned flour and fry it (in a non-stick frying pan with olive oil) until browned. 

At the same time, in a large stainless steel stewpot, sweat the onion over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, adding the garlic partway through.

When the lamb pieces are all browned, add those to the stewpot, too. Splash some Worcestershire sauce over the meat and allow the onion, garlic and lamb to infuse for a minute or two before adding the red wine, stock and tomatoes. 
Stir well.
Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Then add the beans, carrots, mushrooms and celeriac. 
Squirt in the tomato puree and add the fresh thyme and seasoning.

Simmer gently on the stove top for between and hour and and hour and a half to allow all the flavours to infuse. 

Strawberry cake - wheat free, sugar free, delicious

It was my son's dad's birthday and we decided to make a cake. I asked what kind of cake we should make. The answer... strawberry cake with purple icing. 
I don't recommend the icing, but the strawberry cake was good! It's wheat free, whole grain, sugar free and strawberries have a fair amount of fibre from the seeds.

200g organic stoneground, wholegrain spelt flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
100g organic unsalted butter (at room temperature)
100ml agave nectar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
A splash of milk
400g fresh strawberries, halved with stalks removed


Mix together the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, blend together the soft butter and agave nectar. I used a hand blender.  When blended into a creamy paste, add the egg and vanilla paste and mix thoroughly.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/agave/egg /vanilla mixture, stirring continuously. If it starts to look dry, add a splash of milk if desired. The final mixture should be thick and gloopy, not runny but also not dry with powdery bits visible.

Put the cake mixture into a greased 8" baking dish. Put the strawberries on the top.

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees for 1 hour. Keep an eye on it so the strawberries don't burn!

in the oven

cooked   - with purple icing

The joy of Nasi Goreng!

The other day I looked in my fridge and it was full of leftovers. This joyous recipe turned all my leftovers into a really tasty dish (this is enough just for one person):


1/2 small white onion, diced
1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
a handful of mushrooms, sliced
tail end of a butternut squash, diced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/4 scotch bonnet chilli
1 cup brown rice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 egg

Over a medium-low heat, fry the onion, mushroom, butternut squash and carrot in a little sesame oil until soft (about 5 minutes)
Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a further minute. 
Add the rice, soy sauce, more sesame oil, mint and coriander and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Finally, crack the egg into the frying pan and stir until the egg has cooked.

Serve and enjoy! It's so tasty and satisfying. 

Experiments in the kitchen

In recent weeks I have been experimenting in the kitchen.

I'm working on a bean burger recipe and haven't quite cracked it yet - the flavour is good but the texture isn't right.

I made a mushroom stew which has a lovely flavour but is  a bit too delicate.  It needs a bit more oomph.

Today I am cooking up a storm, creating an aubergine and mozarella tomato bake. It's about 30 degrees outside and this is a very wintry dish, but I felt in need of comfort food!

I found a US website dedicated to unprocessed food and daily recipes. It's really inspiring to find a fellow non-processed foodie out there. The blog is called 100daysofrealfood and is much bigger and slicker than mine. The recipes rely on US ingredients but are worth checking out. There is some good information on there about what constitutes a whole grain, for example.

I have changed my cheesy leek bake recipe which I will update on here as well as a crunchier flapjack which I am very pleased with.

So there's lots going on but nothing solid to post yet. My blog is a collection of good recipes, and not all the steps I take along the way so bear with me whilst my experiments continue :)

hot plum heaven!

I have just invented a small bowl of heaven. It's probably not low GI but probably could be with the addition of an oaty crumble topping. 

5 plums, quartered and de-stoned
100ml red wine (I used old wine)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 star anise
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste

Put it all in a pan on the stove and simmer gently, with a lid on, for an hour, stirring occasionally. 

I ate the hot plums with cold, creamy natural yoghurt and it was d-i-v-i-n-e! I would share a photo but I ate it all before I thought about my camera. 

Next time - and there will definitely be a next time! -  will put oats on top, mixed with flaked almonds or whole toasted almonds (both of which I seem to be addicted to and which is okay because they are really good for you) to lower the Glycemix Index rating. 

happy poaching :)