Rosemary (what a beautiful blog you have, so much colour!) said about finding out how so many veggies can be roasted successfully - yes, I've been finding the same, who knew! I too roasted beetroot for the first time last year - it really brings out the flavour and they taste delightfully sweet. I've also recently started roasting cauliflower - rather than breaking it into florets, I slice it into thick 'steaks', spray them with oil and sprinkle with paprika then roast until browned. Delicious.
Marlene J asked about recipes for lentils/pulses. I don't tend to make meals using lentils as the main ingredient, as husband's not keen on them - he says they taste too earthy. But I do use them a lot in my cooking. I put a couple of handfuls of red lentils into stews, mince dishes, curries and the like to thicken them and make them go further, you hardly notice they're there as they disintegrate when cooked down. I also make soup with them, lentil and bacon or tomato and lentil, or carrot and lentil. The little blue/green Puy lentils I cook first, a whole packet at a time, and freeze in portions. I like a heaped tablespoon of them added to a risotto, they seem to pair quite well with rice. I also do a sausage and lentil dish...cut sausages into chunks (I use scissors to cut each sausage into 3 or 4) and fry with sliced onions or leeks, mushrooms and any other veg you have knocking around. Add some wine if you have it and sizzle to cook down, then throw in the Puy lentils and a tin of chopped tomatoes and whatever herbs you fancy, simmer until thickened. This also works really well with chicken pieces, breasts or thighs. I'll have a think about recipes for pulses, none immediately spring to mind, well, other than hummus and split pea and ham soup.
Marlene S - your sprout and cheese risotto sounds delicious, I'll have to try that.
TA - no darling, there's not much room for a food processor in your kitchen is there?! Small but perfectly formed! And yes, I do know how you feel about courgettes....plenty of other things to try instead though.
Photos:-
Hi Sue the sprout and cheese risotto was from a book our son received for Christmas Miguel Barclay's One Pound Meals, It was called sprout and stilton risotto, but our son doesn't like the taste of stilton so I used goat's cheese, the recipe might be online somewhere, if you can't find it I will happily send it to you. I have never had a breakfast muffin before, I do have several recipes I shall have to give it a go it will make a nice change. The smashed potato meal really does look very good, we have several veggie meals every week, we love our meat but don't eat it everyday. Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteI googled and found it, thanks Marlene. We do like blue cheese so I'll definitely be making this.
DeleteGreat, we really enjoyed it. x
DeleteSuch delicious photos! It just shows you don't have to go posh or expensive to eat really well.
ReplyDeletexx
Very true, Joy.
DeletePotatoes look great!
ReplyDeleteI love baked cauliflower with oil and garlic salt and maybe sprinkle cheese!!
What are pulses??
Vegetarian here 27 years!!
I use canned sweet potato instead of meat in chili!!!
Perhaps you call pulses something else where you are? As a vegetarian I'm sure you must eat them...they're peas, beans and the like - not green beans though: kidney, black beans, butter beans, flageolet, chick peas etc.
DeleteEverything looks and sounds so good. I also had to look up what pulses are. Another one was brassica-never hear that word here.
ReplyDeleteI did understand after you said they were like quiches , what the muffins looked like . Your picture of them makes me hungry! Glad to have the photos so I know what mine should look like when they are done.
ReplyDeleteThank you !!!
ReplyDeleteThose breakfast muffins are very tempting - I could have them for lunch!
ReplyDelete