Lamb koftas make me think of two things; delicious family meals out at local barbecue restaurants and weaning. READ MORE
Lamb koftas & beetroot hummus
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Lamb koftas make me think of two things; delicious family meals out at local barbecue restaurants and weaning. READ MORE
Well January is done and, dare I say it, I am sure it felt a little warmer this week. Maybe just wishful thinking?
One of the things I look forward to most about the summer is all of us sitting outside together and eating with our hands. Sausage rolls, pasties, chips, crudités, fresh fruit, dips… anything that’s easy to eat and quick to prepare. READ MORE
I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve been on a diet. It would be easy for me to exclaim that the weight has just ‘dropped off’ through running around after 3 kids. But that would be cowardly and also untrue. I have been being very sensible and really quite hungry a lot of the time. For me, unfortunately there are no short cuts to losing the extra almost 5 stone (yes! impressive, I know, I don’t do things by halves… and that’s not counting the actual baby in that total). Almost a year of eating like a pig means I must spend some time eating like a mouse. Basic maths.
Of course the fat cells did trick me at first. For the first two weeks after having Lawrence I lost a huge amount of weight. I wasn’t especially doing anything different, just maybe not eating a family size pack of chocolate peanuts as an amuse bouche before starting on enough steak and chips to feed a family of four. Then though, the weight loss stopped. So it was time to take action.
I am almost there, I can practically feel how good those old jeans will feel when I get them on. I have 1.5 stone to go. So near and yet so far. I must not give up, I must not give up… It’s so tempting to live out the rest of my days in leggings and a large shirt. But I so want to rediscover my wardrobe. I want to wear something fitted, with buttons. I do! So call me vain.
If you have any tips for getting through the last leg of baby weight loss send them my way. In the meantime I give you beetroot and onion relish. This is delicious with cheese and crackers. Or on cheese on toast. Or in sandwiches. At the moment I am enjoying a teaspoon with a chunk of cheese whenever the hunger makes me want to gnaw at my chunk of a baby’s thighs.
Lots more recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, with The Book People, at Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
One year ago: Hazelnut cupcakes with Nutella buttercream and Red root reblochon bake and Simple banana cake
Two years ago: Cherry tomato frittata and Lemon brioche or Death by chocolate cake
Three years ago: Tiramisu profiteroles and Drunken cherry brandy mincemeat or Macarons
Four years ago: Easy cheesy pasta and Almond coated chicken and Mince pies for mince pie haters
Beetroot & onion relish
Makes 5 medium sized jars
Ingredients:
This is so easy. Preheat the oven to gas mark 3/160C. Break open the pods and remove the seeds then add these to the cumin, salt and cinnamon and grind well in a pestle and mortar. Pour this into a large roasted tray along with the balsamic vinegar and the beetroot. Stir well until evenly coated and roast for 35 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool grate the beetroot and retain any spices from the tray.
When you’re ready to make the relish make sure you have a few jars sterilised and ready to fill. To do this wash them in hot, soapy water (lids too) then rinse in hot water. Bake in the oven at gas 1/130C for at least 20 minutes. Remember to use mitts to remove (is very easy to forget given that it’s rare to remove something like a jam jar from the oven) and whatever you do, only ever add hot fillings to hot jars. If you add a hot filling to a cold jar it is likely to shatter.
Place the onions, honey and oil into a large saucepan (we are going to make the whole relish in this) and fry on a low heat until caramelised – stirring every minute or so. This only takes about 5 – 10 minutes because of the honey, so do watch the pot. Once caramelised, add the vinegars, garlic, sugar and the grated beetroot and stir well. Turn the heat up and allow it to bubble, stirring all the time. After about 10 or so minutes the mixture will have reduced until there’s almost no liquid left. Keep stirring and once it’s thick and without any watery-ness turn the hob off. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before spooning very carefully into sterilised jars, adding the lids once cool enough to handle. Keeps for 9 months. Once opened keep in the fridge.
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So I like to tart up the Sunday roast. Yes there’s roasted meat, mostly pork. There’s always Yorkshire puddings, even when beef isn’t on the menu. And good fat roast potatoes with rosemary, which I know is retro but hey, I like them that way. And often mashed potato too, because mini son likes it so much. And veg! Always veg… carrots as loved by the kids, broccoli requested by eldest son and green beans because they were about to go past their best. The roast hoovers up all manner of veg.
Then there is always but always something that’s aimed at the adults. That’s not to say the kids can’t or don’t have any, but it’s unashamed. This is one such dish. So simple, just beetroot, onion, cream and cheese. When these four friends get together you know the results will be good. We ate the whole damned bake at one sitting and it was mighty fine.
One year ago: Death by chocolate cake and Lemon brioche
Two years ago: Macarons and Sausage and potato pie
Three years ago: Mince pies and Easy cheesy pasta
Red root reblochon bake
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and layer the beetroot and onion into an ovenproof dish. I like to overlap them but so what suits you. Then spoon the creme fraiche over the top as evenly as possible, add the cheeses and season. Bake for about 30 – 40 minutes until a knife slips through the beetroot easily and the top is browned nicely. Serve with a roast, or just bread for dipping.
I saw my lovely friend Sophie the other day for a playdate. We sat, drank tea and generally caught up on gossip whilst the toddlers fought over trains, balls, cheesy wotsits and high juice. A good time was had by all.
Sophie and I are united in our fear of becoming ‘nagging Mum’. We both spent our pre kiddie years having a lot of fun and thought we’d turn from fun single women into fun Mums. Alas, no. The lack of alcohol being drip fed into our systems these days makes for a parenting style that is more disciplinarian than fun. (This is definitely true on my part though I shouldn’t really talk/write for Sophie.) More no than yes in toddler terms. I do know some ‘fun Mums’ who I try to imitate now and again, but I think they were born this way.
Sophie and I also had in common a glut of fresh beetroot in dire need of being dealt with. I say dealt with as copious amounts of the purple stuff strikes fear into me for some reason. I think it’s the imagined need for pre boiling and possible pickling.
We discussed the issue of pink food being wholly unappealing. Like beans on a fry up, beetroot has a habit of infecting all surrounding foodstuffs until you’re eating a river of pinkness. For me pink is the colour of a 2 year old’s birthday cake and candyfloss. Not the colour of dinner. I felt a challenge coming on – for a beetroot recipe that doesn’t turn the plate pink. Here it is:
Ingredients (enough for 2 large mains):
Preheat the oven to Gas 6. Wash the beetroot to remove soil etc, then top and tail it being careful not to puncture the skin. Pop on a roasting tray and pour over 3 tbsp of olive oil. Put on the top shelf of the oven and roast for about 45 mins. Check after half an hour to see if the beetroot are cooked by piercing the skin with a sharp knife. Yours may need longer if they’re really large. Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool a little then cut into halves.
Boil the new potatoes until tender then drain and add 3 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Make sure the potatoes are dressed. Then start to assemble the salad. Make a bed of rocket, arrange the beetroot, potatoes and goat’s cheese in a circle, then add the mackerel fillets to the top in a chef-y fashion. Lastly use the lemony potato dressing to drizzle over the salad.
Postscript: No pink river was reported at Bell Towers however the plate may have had a small pinkish residue. And on the issue of beetroot skins – I cannot be bothered to peel beetroot once it’s cooked, certainly not for Mr B and myself. So we ate some of the skin and anything deemed too hard and gnarled was cut away whilst eating and thrown in the bin with the mackerel skin.
Holly Bell 