Posted on

Dandelion Pops

We love dandelions, and this time of year, they are plentiful. We pick them to make Dandelion Pesto and Dandelion Fritters, and I’m currently brewing my first batch of dandelion wine too. But our favourite thing to do with dandelions is to tempura them, or as my children call it ‘Dandelion Popcorn’ – little balls of fried dandelions.

dandelion popsA few things to note about about picking dandelions:

  1. Pick dandelions in full sun, so that they are wide open. In the morning and evening they will be closed.
  2. Cook them as soon as you can. They begin closing up as soon as they are picked, so getting them in batter quickly is preferred.
  3. There are little black bugs that live in dandelions, so make sure you rinse them and leave them a little while to give the bugs chance to escape.Sweet dandelion pops

Some tips on tempura batter:

  1. Different recipes call for different ingredients, obviously, but the important thing is making sure your water is as cold as possible.
  2. I think it works best with sparkling water, but normal water works well too – so long as it’s cold.
  3. Once you start dipping the dandelion heads work quickly. It’s worth having the batter in two bowls so that you can dip a batch, and have the other bowl in the freezer, then swap the bowls over before you start dipping again. The colder the batter, the less oil the dandelion takes on.  washed dandelions

You will need:

  • 85g of plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 200ml icy cold sparkling water

Wash the dandelions and leave set aside to drive so as to keep the fried batter crispy.

Add the flour, salt and sugar to a bowl.

Pour in the sparkling water and mix till just combined. If you over mix you push out all the air bubbles, but you also increase the gluten content, so don’t over mix.

(In the Thermomix, add all the ingredients and mix 20 seconds speed 4).

Split the batter between two bowls, and leave them in the freezer or fridge.

Heat the oil. Take a bowl from the freezer. Hold the dandelion by the green part, and dip it lightly in the batter, making sure to cover everything. Drop the dandelion into the hot oil and fry for 1 – 2 minutes, till a golden brown.

Remove to a bowl with absorbent towel or draining board and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Alternatively with icing sugar and lemon juice.

Enjoy while still warm and fresh.

Posted on

Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks Recipe

It’s that time of year where I start thinking about snack box fillers for days out, picnics and camping weekends, and one snack type that we all like is a puff pastry cheese stick. Now, you can buy these pretty cheaply, but they’ve been in a box for weeks and have an almost human-lifespan shelf life, in some cases! They are so quick to make, and they are delicious. Kept in an airtight container they also last well – if you hide them away so no one can eat them, that is.

Cheese Twists

Now, I’d like to be all pious and tell you I made the pastry myself, and for budget reasons, I’d make large batches, but actually when I’m doing quick snacks, bought pastry is perfect. If you buy a roll of pastry, go for the most expensive one you can find. An all-butter pastry is delicious, whereas the cheaper ones with oil can have a bitter after taste.

You can vary and adapt the filling to your heart’s desire. Remember a lot of it will fall out when you’re twisting, so make sure to have a bowl or something you can ‘mess’ into so you can reuse it again.

Tip: It’s also useful to fill and slice the pastry on the tray you’ll put in the oven. It just cuts down on the spillage.
Cheese Twists

For this recipe I’ve used parmesan and smoked paprika. You can also use a combination of herbs, and a melting cheese. Great flavour combinations are:

  • Cheddar and chives
  • Parmesan, rosemary & thyme
  • Cheddar & Onion Salt
  • Parmesan and Smoked Paprika
Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks Recipe
Recipe Type: Snacks, Picnic, Lunch box
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 Roll Puff Pastry
  • 40g Parmesan Cheese
  • 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Instructions
  1. Roll out puff pastry
  2. In the Thermomix (or using a cheese grater) finely chop the parmesan (speed 10, 30 seconds) and add the seasoning – in this case smoked paprika. Mix speed 5 for a couple of seconds to combine.
  3. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over one half of the puff pastry, then fold the unsprinkled side over the sprinkled side so that it covers itself completely (like folding a page in half, basically!)
  4. Use a sharp knife to cut slits through from one side to the other, about 10 -12 all in.
  5. Take an end in each hand and twist in opposite directions and place on a baking tray.
  6. Bake at 180C for 20 – 30 mins till it’s golden brown and delicious

 

Posted on

Chick Pea Patties

Chick Pea Patties
I have a bowl full of chickpeas soaking on the counter at the moment, and I was looking for recipes to use them up with, when I remembered Charlotte had saved this lovely Chick Pea Patty recipe in the folders for us! I know you all love Charlotte’s past contributions, so I hope you’ll love this one too!

I’ll be making them tomorrow myself, I think!

If you’re not using a Thermomix, as Charlotte does below, mix the ingredients in a food processor till they make a nice pasty mix.

Chick Pea Patties {Thermomix Recipe}
Author: Charlotte
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1-2 Tbsp ‘flavouring’ (you can choose what to add, Herbs ect.. I used dukkah)
  • ½ onion
  • 1 Clove garlic
  • 1 egg
  • A pinch of salt & pepper
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs or to make it gluten free I used some oats blitzed into flour
  • 1 Carrot -grated
  • GF flour for rolling in
  • A pinch of salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. Place onion, ‘flavouring” and the chickpeas (which you’ve rinsed and drained) and process for 10 -15 seconds on speed 4.
  2. Add in egg and breadcrumbs/oats and process 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides.
  3. Tip into a large bowl & add grated carrot, salt & pepper
  4. Your mixture will be soft but if it’s runny then add in some oats or more breadcrumbs. You don’t want a really stiff mixture but firm enough to fry later on. Refrigerate at least ½ hour.
  5. Tip some flour onto a plate and take a good handful of the mixture and form into a small burger shape, coating it all in the flour. Be generous with the flour
  6. Now place the burgers on a plate and refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
  7. Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a frypan and once hot fry your burgers for a few minutes on each side. If they start to burn just turn down the heat.
  8. Serve with some pitta bread and salad. Or dip into home made ketchup!
Posted on

{Book Review} and Grilled Vegetable Quinoa

Apart from my two pregnancies, I’ve always been a meat eater, but after almost ten years of supermarket meat in the UK my husband and I decided that we would rather reduce the number of times a week that we eat meat, and buy organic meat to eat less often. This has worked exceptionally well and the meat we’ve been eating in the last two months has been amazing. In the balance, however, has been more vegetarian meals.

Vegetarian Step-by-Step Grilled Veggie Quinoa

Once upon a time I assumed a veggie meal meant salad with a side of cucumber. Not my favourite. But while it’s taken a few years, I’ve finally grown to understand how good vegetarian food can be.

I was recently invited to be part of the Parragon Books book club, and one of the first books I’ve received to review was the Love Food Vegetarian Step-By-Step cookbook*.

I am loving this book.

It really is ideal for beginner cooks, whether they’re five or 35, as each recipe uses basic, relatively simple ingredients, and a really good step by step guide to the directions.

The book is beautifully illustrated, with all the ingredients laid out in the first picture, what it all looks like in the preparation, and finally, the end result.

Another thing that is absolutely fabulous about this book is the fact that bits and pieces of recipes can be used together or apart. For example I used only the Cheese Pastry sticks bit of the Celeriac Soup With Cheese Pastry Sticks recipe. It’s nicely set out that you can, even as a beginner, choose the bits you want.

I own many cook books, most of which I know I’ll only ever make four or five recipes out of, but in this book, there are no recipes that I can say no, I’ll definitely never make that. It’s set to become a favourite, for sure.

Below is the first recipe I made from the Love Food Vegetarian Step-By-Step cookbook*, and I’m sure there’ll be more!

{Book Review} and Grilled Vegetable Quinoa
Recipe Type: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
A lovely vegetarian dish, ideal on it’s own or served as a side to something else. Easily adaptable too, if you don’t have the same vegetables feel free to use others. Don’t skip the pine nuts though – they totally make the dish. The instructions differ a little from the original, but work out perfectly.
Ingredients
  • 2 peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 large courgette, cut into chunks
  • 1 small fennel bulb, cut into slim wedges
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 100g/3.5 oz quinoa
  • 350ml/12 fl oz vegetable stock
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley
  • 40g 1.5 oz pine nuts, toasted
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a hot pan and set aside to cool.
  3. Chop vegetables and put in a bowl.
  4. Drizzle over olive oil and mix so that it covers all the vegetables.
  5. Arrange the chopped vegetables in a single layer in a roasting tin.
  6. Roast for 25 – 30 minutes.
  7. Place the quinoa, stock and garlic in a saucepan (or in the Thermomix), bring to the boil and cover to simmer for 12 – 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and most of the stock has been absorbed.
  8. Mix the quinoa in with the vegetables and top with the toasted pine nuts and flat leaf parsley, and serve immediately.

nutrition

*affiliate link. It won’t cost you any extra to buy through this link, but Amazon will give me 5% of the sale price, which goes towards helping paying for this blog. Thanks for supporting us!

Posted on

Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder

Apple Strudel Maca SmoothieFor ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie…YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so I paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!

Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Charlotte
Serves: 1-2
For ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie…YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!
Ingredients
  • 1 Granny smith apple, cored and quartered
  • 3 Dates
  • 1/4 Cup Walnuts
  • 1/2 tsp -1tsp Raw, Organic Maca powder
  • 1/2 tsp Organic Mesquite powder
  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Small banana
  • 1-2 Cups of Milk, I usually use almond milk.
Instructions
  1. Put everything into the Thermomix or blender and blend until smooth.
  2. I start with one cup of milk and add more if it’s too thick for my liking.
  3. Or add 2 cups and share.