Flaxseed Power

Recently I read on a Facebook post that by eating flax seeds we are not really getting the benefit as they just pass through our internal system.

The best way to absorb all the nutrients and the Omega oils that make this seed a wonder food is to blend it or grind it and put it in something and consume.

I thought what better then to add the seeds to a tomato pasta sauce which in turn gave it more of a thick texture and it stuck to the penne really well!

Simply add a tablespoon of flax seeds to your chopped tomatoes and Blitz and then make your own pasta sauce accordingly!

This is definitely one for the kids especially if they are Fussy Eaters and all they want is pasta with cheese and tomato.

I also add mine to my fruit smoothies.

Hope this helps their friends and that you are all keeping well!

Love Dimple

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Spinach, Pea and Paneer Curry

So today I decided to put two famous paneer curries into one.

Palak and matar paneer reinvented and super tasty. Using fresh spinach adds such a rich flavour. I can’t wait to delve in!

INGREDIENTS 

1 red onion chopped

1 tin tomatoes crushed 

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp ginger

1 tbsp oil

Pinch of asofoetida

Pinch of Mustard seeds

Pinch of Cumin seeds 

Little dried chilli flakes

1 star anise 

1 tsp cumin & coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste 

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp dried mango powder

I block paneer cubed 

1 bag fresh baby spinach pureed 

1 cup frozen peas

METHOD 

Heat the oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan with the mustard, cumin, chilli flakes, asofoetida and star anise. Once the seeds start to sizzle stir in the chopped onion, garlic and ginger

Reduce the heat to slow.  Add the tomatoes with the rest of the spices 

Combine and cook for 5 minutes. Place the paneer into the tomato base, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes stirring occasionally 

Last thing is to add the pureed spinach and peas. Cook off for a further 10 minutes and your curry is ready to eat!

Coriander & Cheese Scrambled eggs

To add to the flavour of already delicious scrambled eggs with cheese. I decided to put coriander, yes simply coriander! into the mix and my what a result!

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs
Handful of chopped coriander
Handful of grated mature cheddar cheese
3 tbsp milk
Salt to taste
1 tbsp butter

METHOD

Place all the ingredients into a bowl apart from the butter and beat together until combined

Heat the butter in a non stick pan on low.  Once melted add the egg mixture and stir slowly with a wooden spoon

Once the eggs are of a soft scrambled consistency, take off the heat and place on two pieces of toast with lashings of butter

Enjoy!

A Beetroot, Feta & Quinoa Salad

I have a tremendously healthy salad recipe for today. One that we had last night and has left me vitalised! Low fat, high in protein and fibre and so very tasty. I felt so good eating it and I still have some left over for lunch.

Perfect for a summer’s evening with a cheeky glass of crisp white wine if you want 😉 I’ll be experimenting and creating more salads this season. Can’t wait to share them with you all.

I will be serving some @ Angie’s Fiesta Friday Party

Have a terrific day! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

1 cup quinoa
1 raw peeled and grated beetroot
3 spring onions finely sliced
1 big tomato roughly chopped
1 tin roseca/borlotti beans rinsed & drained
Feta cheese crumbled (low fat)
Handful of sunflower seeds
1tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp garlic granules
Salt to taste

METHOD

Put the quinoa to in a small saucepan and cook upon instruction. I tend to cook it like pasta. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Drain and set aside

In a large bowl add the rest of the ingredients in order according to the pictures. Leaving the beetroot til the end..ish. This way you cab minimize the addition of the deep pink colour to the salad

Crumble in the feta last and fold in

Serve alone or with some buttered whole grain pitta bread

I will be serving some @

Assemble This Aubergine For One

This is simply an assemble recipe. Have the ingredients ready. Roast, spoon and sprinkle and ta..da! A lovely aubergine which is light and scrumptious with a healthy filling!

Sorry for the picture quality. I couldn’t wait to eat it!! Lol 😉

INGREDIENTS

1 medium aubergine
4 tbsp crushed tomato
1 tbsp oil
1 packet cooked vegetable rice (microwavable)
Grated cheddar cheese

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180c. Place the aubergine in a roasting tray. Oil the aubergine lightly with a brush and score a few times

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the aubergine is soft and tender

Once roasted, carefully slice the aubergine in half.  Spread the crushed tomato passata evenly on both halves

Spoon on the rice again evenly and sprinkle with a generous amount of grated cheese

Place the aubergine in the oven and cook until cheese is nice and gooey

Baked Egg In Toast

A cheese and egg dish which can only be described as ultimate comfort on a plate.  Is a brilliant nutritious breakfast or a luxury delight at brunch!

Prep takes a minute, place in the oven and when the timer goes off your cheese, egg in toast is ready!

INGREDIENTS for 1

Slice of bread
1 medium egg
Grated cheddar cheese
Butter

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200c

With the back of a tablespoon press firmly into the centre of the bread. Making an indent for the egg to sit in

Lightly butter the edges of the bread

Crack an egg into the indent.  Sprinkle the edges with grated cheese

Place in the oven for 15 minutes. You should get a runny egg!

A Silky Courgette Pasta Sauce

It’s the time to be sneaky again. Vegetables will be disguised in many forms so that our little ones will eat and hopefully enjoy them through the flavour rather than texture. I feel it is the texture that many children fear when it comes to eating fruit and vegetables. I couldn’t do aubergine when I was younger as it felt rather slimy on my tongue! Now I can’t live without them! Thanks to my Mum’s perseverance in feeding them to me.

Pasta is always a winner and chunks of courgettes are not appealing to our children so blitz it, make it smooth and silky! They’ll be none the wiser!

INGREDIENTS

1 large courgette
1 tin plum tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1 level tsp dried oregano
Dried chilli flakes to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
100ml water

METHOD

Blend the courgette, tomatoes and garlic to a smooth paste with the water

Heat up the oil on a low heat in a medium saucepan with the oregano and chilli flakes.  Once the oil starts to sizzle slowly pour in the tomato blend.  Stir in the salt

Keeping on a low heat, allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Whilst the sauce is cooking through put on your penne pasta to boil

Serve the sauce on a bed of pasta with a sprinkling of grated mature cheddar cheese

My First Homemade Chutney!

I didn’t know that home made chutneys are so easy to make!  And so damn tasty!  I made this delectable tomato chutney with green tomatoes that were picked fresh out of my mother in law’s garden.  She is extremely gifted when it comes to gardening and my husband definitely inherits his green fingers from her. 

This chutney will go superbly with Indian flatbread due to the heat or with a strong mature cheddar or brie and crackers as it is also sour and slightly sweet! An all rounded chutney.  Shame that 1kg of toms gave me 1 small jar of chutney. However I know where I can find more tomatoes! Mother in law I’m on my way!

With tomatoes being harvested, do give this simple recipe a go! You’ll make it again and again

INGREDIENTS

1kg green tomatoes cored and chopped
1 large white onion diced
1 cup cider vinegar
1¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp crystallized ginger
1 tsp red dried chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD

Place all the ingredients into a large saucepan, mix well, bring the contents to a boil and then cover, simmer for 50 minutes on a low to medium heat

Make sure most of the liquid has evaporated, this will give the chutney an intense flavour

Israeli Cous Cous Salad

For someone that is not partial to cous cous I had never tasted Israeli cous cous until a few weeks ago. Not very cous cous like but is actually little pearl like pasta. I found it to be filling and goes well with all sorts of vegetables. I am writing this post up as I wait here for my husband to come home and try this salad for the first time. I will let you know his verdict. I know it will be good 😉

Enjoy your day, much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Israeli cous cous (cooked as per instruction on packet)
285g tinned sweetcorn
1 bag of baby spinach
1 large courgette sliced thinly
12 cherry tomatoes
6 unpeeled cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice
Cheddar cheese grated

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°c, put the courgette, cherry tomatoes and garlic into a shallow roasting dish.  Drizzle over with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until tomatoes are cooked through and the courgette slices are soft and tender

In a large salad bowl, combine all the ingredients, the pre cooked cous cous, sweetcorn along with the roasted vegetables fresh out of the oven

Mix well, smash the cherry tomatoes a little to release some juice for flavour, season with salt and fresh lemon juice

Serve on a bed of baby spinach and sprinkle with cheese.  Feta cheese here would also be a lovely choice

Mature Cheddar Soufflé with Tefal

It is difficult making soufflés but what if I told you, I have a machine that will not only mix the ingredients but cook the base of the soufflé and all you have to do is follow the simple instructions and place the soufflés to bake.

INTERESTED?  I’ve caught your attention right?!

Ok, so I’m going to take you back to August last year when I was approached by Tefal to trial out a new kitchen product, and what a product it is!  I am now allowed to show this wonderful piece of apparatus as it is about to be on UK shelves in September this year.  It proved to be a very popular and extremely useful tool in the kitchen.

It cooks, chops, mixes, whisks.  Making all types of dishes from your simple sauces to exquisite sweet delicacies. Not forgetting hearty meals that can be prepped and cooked in the one machine, especially for those Autumn and winter nights approaching.  You are able to plug this in, follow the recipe, set the Cuisine Companion, then sit back with a large glass of vino

I will be making many more recipes with the Tefal CC but for now I will indulge your eyes and tastebuds with these mature cheddar cheese soufflés!

INGREDIENTS

40g plain flour
30g butter
500 ml milk
150g grated mature Cheddar cheese
4 eggs
Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°c.  Place the flour and milk in the cuisine companion food processor with the mixer attachment.  Season with salt and pepper then mix at speed 7 for 1 minute,  Add the butter, launch the sauce programme for 8 minutes, set at 90°c speed 4

In the meantime separate the egg whites from the yolks.  At the end of the program, throw in the grated cheddar, mix for 1 minute at speed 8.  Combine the yolks in to the mixture and mix for 45 seconds

Pour the cheese mixture into a large bowl and wash the food processor bowl

Place the egg whites into the cleaned bowl, fit with the mixer attachment again.  Start the food processor at speed 7 for 7.5 minutes without the stopper

Grease 6 to 8 small glass ramekins, gently fold the egg whites in to the cheese mixture.  Pour individually up to the top of each ramekin.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, without opening the oven door.  The soufflés will be ready when risen, golden brown and still have a little wobble to them.  Eat immediately for a fluffy sensation

To make soufflés by hand see http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4805/cheese-souffl-in-4-easy-steps-