Chive & Mint Potato Salad

A dish that is great to go with a BBQ or as part of a fork buffet.

Ingredients:

2kg new potatoes
2 red onions, sliced thinly
bunch of chives, chopped
3 large stalks of mint, chopped
2 tbsps of mayonnaise
3 tbsps of olive oil
pepper
1 tsp of mustard powder

Method:

1. Half the potatoes and place in pan of water, bringing to the boil.
2. Simmer for 20 mins or until soft but firm.
3. Whilst potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing - place the mayonnaise, olive oil, mustard powder and black pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Add the onions and herbs and mix well.
4. When potatoes are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
5. Add the potatoes to the dressing and mix until the potatoes are evenly covered with the dressing.

Serve either warm or chilled as part of a buffet or BBQ.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 leek, sliced

2 carrots, chopped

150g mushrooms, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

3 tbsp dried sage (or 3 fresh leaves if available)

3 tbsp dried thyme (or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves only if available)

250g dried green lentils

750ml vegetable stock (made with 1 vegetable OXO cube)

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

200ml red wine

1 tbsp (vegetarian) Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

tbsp olive oil

Topping:

2 large sweet potatoes

2 large potatoes

1 small/medium cauliflower, heads only

large knob of butter

handful of grated cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the leeks, until they begin to soften.
3. Add carrots, mushrooms and garlic, continuing to cook for 4-5 mins, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the herbs, lentils, tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, red wine, soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce and stir together well.
5. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer on a low heat for 30-40 minutes to thicken slightly.
6. Whilst the filling is simmering, boil the potatoes, sweet potatoes & cauliflower in a pan together for 15 mins until all is soft.
7. Drain the vegetables and add the butter to mash until smooth.
8. Transfer the filling to an oven proof dish and top with the mashed vegetables. Sprinkle the grated cheese on the top.
9. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Root Vegetable Pie

Again another real winter warmer...

Ingredients:

Tbsp veg oil

2 onions

1 tbsp thyme

1 large parsnip

3 large carrots

3 medium potatoes

Half a swede
4 tbsps pearl barley

1 heaped tbsp plain flour

1 litre of veg stock (I used 2 veg OXO cubes)

500g puff pastry

Milk or egg to glaze

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Chop onions finely & the other veg into small chunks.
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. Add the chopped onion & thyme & fry for a few minutes.
5. Add the carrots, parsnips, swede, celery & potato, place the lid on the pan & gently fry for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the flour & mix well to coat the vegetables.
7. Add the pearl barley & stock, again cover the pan & simmer for 15-20 minutes until veg is softening.
8. Place in an oven proof dish or pie dish.
9. Roll the pastry til approx 0.5cm thick & cut to the shape of the dish. 
10. Brush the edges of the pie dish with milk or egg to allow the pastry to stick.
11. Place the pastry on top of the dish & with a fork or your fingers press the edge of the pastry to the dish.
12. Place a small hole in the centre of the pastry & brush with milk or egg to glaze.
13. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Rosemary, Leek & Bean Ragu

I made this recipe using home grown leeks and carrots, it's a real winter warmer.

Ingredients:

A little olive oil
500g leeks, sliced
2 carrots, sliced

2 sprigs of rosemary

400g tin of butter beans, drained

400g tin of black eyes beans, drained

500ml vegetable stock 

1 tbsp of corn flour mixed in cold water

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat & add the leeks. Stir continuously for about 7/8 mins until soft.
2. Add the carrots, beans, rosemary & stock and mix together.
3. Bring the pan to simmer, add the corn flour/water mix & stir in well. 
4. Simmer for about 20 mins until it begins to thicken.

Serve with mashed potato, crusty bread or garlic bread.

Spring Seeds

This was my conservatory windowsill a week or so ago...

...lots of new growth and potential for the summer garden of 2016. Now, it is beginning to look a bit like a forest. I am looking forward to the end of this cold weather & the frosts to be able to begin planting out in the garden.

Slow Cooked Sausage & Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

15 sausages

3 onions, chopped finely

4 carrots, sliced

1 tbsp sage

1 tbsp mixed herbs

1 tin of black eyed beans

1 tin of kidney beans

1 tin of sweetcorn (or frozen)

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable OXO cube

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp cornflour mixed in a little cold water

200ml boiling water

Method:

1. Place the sausages in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Add the chopped onions, carrots, herbs and mix well.
3. Next add the tins of beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes again mixing well.
4. Next sprinkle the OXO cube on top, add the tomato puree and cornflour, before lastly the boiling water and mix very well together.
5. Place the slow cooker on high for 1 hour, then low for 5-6 hours.

Serve with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes

NB This recipe serves about 12 people, but I always cook large quantities and then freeze for another day.

Sausage & bean casserole

Ingredients:10 pork sausages

olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

a handful of chopped fresh parsley 

1 carrot, chopped

half a swede

1 parsnip, chopped

1 tin of beans

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp mustard 

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

300ml veg stock

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Place sausages in the casserole dish and put in the oven to cook.
3. Heat the oil in a pan & add the onion & half the parsley for a minute.
4. Add the chopped vegetables (carrots, swede, parsnip) & fry for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add the veg stock, beans, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce & mustard along with the remaining parsley, allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Once sausages are cooked, add the simmering ingredients from the pan on top of the sausages & place back in the oven for 30 mins.

Serve with mashed or jacket potatoes and some fresh green beans or broccoli.

Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, chopped

2 courgettes, chopped

1 carrot, chopped
2 peppers, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

a handful of fresh basil, finely chopped (I was able to use fresh basil from the garden)

2 tins of tomatoes

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
Olive oil

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan. On a medium heat fry the onion, garlic and half the basil for a few minutes.
2. Add the aubergine, courgettes, peppers and carrots for a 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes, red wine vinegar and rest of the basil and bring to simmer.
4. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
5. Serve with pasta or crusty bread, topped with some grated parmesan cheese.

More Hogan Harvest

For my first year of gardening we have done quite well, we had lots of peas, we have quite a number of tomatoes, many are still green but here was my first red tomato.

I also have a toddler who arrives at my side regularly with a proud smile on his face and a handful of freshly picked green tomatoes, which he says are apples! So we shall see how many manage remain on the plant until they are red.

My herbs are doing really well after a slow start and I have started to use them in my cooking.

Do you remember the photos I posted of the basil in June (What's Wrong With My Basil?) well these are the same plants, you would never guess how healthy and green they could look after starting out in the garden so brown & yellow.

And this is my first red raspberry, which is a surprise as I only planted the canes this year and had read that it can take a few years for them to bare fruit. Well, we have a number of flowers and small fruits beginning to grow on the plants now, so we have done quite well with our first season.

The blackberries which have grown over from next door are also feeding us well, with 2 apple and blackberry crumbles made this week with the produce.

I am looking forward to trying some different plants and more of the same as well next year.

Easy Homemade Sausage Rolls

Ingredients:

250g readymade shop bought puff pastry (OR make your own using the recipe - Easy Puff Pastry)

8 sausages

thyme

ground pepper

1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Preheat oven to Gas 6/200C.
2. Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, ideally into a rectangle, about <0.5cm thick & the width of 2 sausages end to end. Cut the pastry into 2 long strips the width of each sausage.
3. Brush the beaten egg onto the pastry and sprinkle some of the thyme & ground black pepper over it.
4. Place a sausage to the edge of the pastry and roll, cutting the pastry when you have approximately 1cm overlap of pastry around the sausage.
5. Place the rolled sausage on a baking tray and make some slits with a knife in the top.
6. Brush with beaten egg.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until you have used all the pastry or sausages (I found this was the perfect ratio of sausages to pastry but it depends on how thinly/thickly you roll your pastry and how fat your sausages are!).
8. Place in the oven for 25-30 mins or until golden brown.

Great to take on a packed lunch or for a buffet or summer picnic.

Pea, Spinach & Pesto Lasagne

Ingredients:

White sauce:

500ml milk
25g butter
1 heaped tbsp plain flour

Lasagne sheets
Pesto - half jar
200g frozen or fresh peas
200g spinach
Cheese, grated
Few leaves of fresh basil
Few leaves of fresh mint

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Melt butter in a pan on a low heat.
3. Remove from heat & mix in the flour to make a thick paste.
4. Whisk in a small amount of the milk to make a smooth paste and return to a low/medium heat. As it's heating continue stirring & gradually add more & more of milk to the pan. Eventually the sauce will begin thickening.
5. Stir in the spinach, peas, pesto & herbs and heat until the spinach leaves have wilted.
6. In a lasagne dish layer: the lasagne sheets, pesto, pea & spinach sauce & a sprinkling of grated cheese. Continue layering until you have used all the sauce, top with cheese. 
7. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with some fresh green salad or garlic bread. We also had some grilled sausages with the lasagne for all you meat lovers.

Peas in a Pod

My pea harvest has began, they're so beautifully sweet and succulent...

Also you remember the photos of the basil I posted a month ago What Is Wrong With My Basil? well . . . after moving the plants outside, removing the browned leaves and repotting them, the plants have sprouted some beautiful healthy green leaves which I am looking forward to using soon in my kitchen.

What is wrong with my basil?

Ok, calling all fellow gardeners...

...what is wrong with my basil?

It had been in the conservatory & I wondered if the leaves were burning cos it was getting so hot in there with the beautiful weather so I put the plants outside and browning leaves appears to be getting worse. Is this some kind of basil disease?

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp mixed herbs

500g beef mince

1 courgette, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 tin of tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 cup of beef stock made with 1 oxo cube

black pepper

3 large potatoes, peeled & chopped

2 handfuls of grated cheese

splash of milk

black pepper

knob of butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4.
2. Boil the potatoes in a pan until soft.
3. Heat the oil in another large pan and gently fry the beef mince, once beginning to brown add the onion, garlic, herbs and courgettes. Continue cooking until the onions are soft.
4. Add the carrots, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli flakes and beef stock and season with black pepper as necessary and stir well.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots and nicely cooked through.
6. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the butter, milk and a handful of cheese to the pan and mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. Season with black pepper.
7. Place the beef sauce into the bottom of an oven proof dish and top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the remainder of the grated cheese on top on the potatoes and heat in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is golden on top.

Serve with some fresh green vegetables.

Aubergine Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

150g lasagna sheets

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

Sprinkling of basil

For tomato sauce:

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tsp basil (fresh is best but dried is ok too)

1 courgette

1 carrot

1 tin of tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp tomato purée

For the cheese sauce: 

25g butter

1 heaped tbsp flour

500ml milk

Handful of grated cheese

Black pepper

Sprinkling of nutmeg

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 6.
2. Top & tail the aubergine & slice into 0.5cm slices.
3. Coat in olive oil & lie them on a baking tray.
4. Bake for 25 mins turning in the middle. 
5. Whilst the aubergine is cooking, chop the onion, garlic, carrot & courgette finely.
6. Put a little olive oil into a sauce pan & gently fry the onion, garlic, courgette & basil. 
7. Once soft add the tinned tomatoes, carrots, tomato purée, half a cup of boiled water & the stock cube. Stir well.
8. Leave to simmer until the carrots are soft and the sauce has slightly reduced.
9. In another saucepan on a low heat melt the butter.
10. Once melted remove from heat & stir in the flour to form a paste.
11. Return to heat & little by little add the milk stirring constantly until it is the required consistency. Add the cheese, pepper & nutmeg and extra milk if required to make it thinner. Simmer for a few minutes. 
12. Once the tomato sauce, cheese sauce & aubergine is cooked layer the lasagna sheets followed by the tomato sauce, cheese sauce, more lasagne, aubergine, tomato sauce, cheese sauce... & repeat layers until all the sauces & aubergine is used up. 
13. Top with grated cheese, the cherry tomatoes & a sprinkling of basil.
14. Heat in the oven until the topping is nicely browned for about 30 mins. 

Serve with garlic bread & green salad. 

Spring has Sprung in the Garden

Daffodils

Violas

Spring has finally sprung, which is allowing me to get out in the garden. This is the first spring I have lived in a house with a garden, so I am very excited about what we might grow this year. We visited the local garden centre a few weeks ago and I spent lots of my Christmas money on garden equipment including a raised bed, seeds and plants, etc (my husband says I can't go back for a while as I spent too much money!).

Carrots

I have planted:

• herb seeds - coriander, basil & parsley
• daffodils along the edge of my lawn
• blueberry bushes
• raspberry canes
• runner bean seeds
• pea seeds
• butternut squash seeds
• spinach seeds
• a tomato plant
• carrots
• violas

My windowsill

Many of the potted seeds are sat on my window sill in the conservatory whilst they germinate and I am really enjoying watching new shoots appear most days with the beautiful warm sunny weather we have been having. I cannot wait to get them planted outside especially if this beautiful weather continues.

Blueberry bush

Previously I have not been so successful at growing plants and keeping them alive so this year is my year to prove myself wrong and harvest bumper crops to feed the family!!!

Tomato 

Daffodil