Giant couscous salad: dairy free, soya free, syn free, vegan

This salad is lovely - slightly warm, with the fresh crunch of all the veggies, and the spice of the chilli really make it a light, and tasty lunch.

It's really yummy with a hefty dollop of my staple humous - why not try my aubergine humous which is so, so tasty - if I do say so myself. It'd be awesome with some chopped avocado as well, but despite it being pretty much the only bit of Slimming World I disagree with. It's healthy fat! We need healthy fats! I'm desperately trying to shift the last bit of weight.

A dairy and soya free recipe, it's quick and easy to knock up, and perfectly portable for packed lunches. I'm an Ikea Lagom ambassador and use their Fortrolig containers as I can see what's in them and so am less likely to forget what I've got and leave my lunches languishing in the fridge. 

Anyway, enough chatter - on to the recipe: 

Giant couscous salad 

Dairy free, soya free, vegan, syn free

150g giant couscous

Enough cold water to cover

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen sweetcorn

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 red pepper, diced

3 small-medium carrots, grated

1 red chilli, finely diced

Cherry tomatoes to taste, halved (I add these as I dish up, as they go a bit bleurgh otherwise and use 7 per serving)

1 tin mixed beans in water, drained

Olive oil Fry light/ or a tablespoon of olive oil (but obviously the recipe won't be syn free if you add this) 

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

In a small medium pan, put the couscous and cover with the cold water. Bring to the boil and add the peas, sweetcorn and drained beans. Turn the heat down low and allow to simmer for 6 minutes

While this is cooking, prep your veggies and pop in a medium bowl. Although I just put them straight into a food container that can go in the fridge because I'm lazy efficient like that. 

Once the couscous is cooked - it'll be slightly translucent - drain the pan of any leftover water and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so. 

Spray with some olive oil fry light, or add a tablespoon of Olive oil at this point

Once cooled slightly add the contents of the pan to your bowl and mix thoroughly

Add the juice and zest of the lemon

Serve, with your humous, or just as it comes. It's really delicious and so lovely just slightly warm.  

As a side note - Harry wasn't keen (but he's teething and only wants to eat weetabix at the moment) but did enjoy picking up the giant couscous, peas and sweetcorn before daintily discarding them over the side of his high chair. So even if it's not a winner for eating, apparently it's nice for his pincer grip! 

If you're in the mood to egg the sunshine on with some more dairy free salads - why not have a look at these from some other lovely bloggers:

Tin and Thyme has what I suspect would be a beautifully fresh Fennel salad (I love fennel - I wonder what Harry would make of it)

Meal Planning Monday: mildly sleep deprived

Perhaps that's an understatement - although *touch wood* I seem to be coping OK with the disrupted nights, it's the cluster feeding that I'm still finding a killer. This weekend's culinary efforts have been a bit of a disaster - I cremated the bacon, scrambled the carbonara, and made bread rolls that were doughy to say the least. Hopefully next week will be better. Hopefully.

It's supposed to be glorious for most of this week - I'm planning to take Harry out in the garden and enjoy the shade of our apple tree. Aside from an NCT meet up and a Health Visitor weigh in for Harry it's a quiet week. Which to be honest, is the best way for us at the moment. Slow days with flexible to do lists that can be abandoned without a problem are indupitably the way forward.

Breakfasts: Yoghurt and granola for me (still with the oats) with extra fruit as well.

Lunches: Halloumi and salad or houmous, pitta bread and salad.

Dinners:

Monday: Chicken wraps with avocado, salad and potato wedges

Tuesday: Courgetti spaghetti

Wednesday: leftover courgetti spaghetti

Thursday: Pizza

Friday: Lasagne

Saturday: Steak

Sunday: Freezer surprise

Baking wise, I did make M a s'more inspired birthday cake which I'll blog later this week so we have that for packed lunches - although it's not particularly travel friendly.

Meal planning Monday: The sun'll come out...

*fingers crossed*

Normal service has been resumed in the Pantry, and I write this with a fruit cake baking and a shoulder of pork slow roasting in the oven.

I got home late on Thursday and after a pizza and a much needed hug, slept all the way through until the morning. I swear there were angels singing. This weekend has deliberately been slow, with a spot of running, some shopping and a trip to Shaw corner. M and I realised that the only sensible Christmas present for us is National trust membership and are ignoring the fact that this makes us old.

Next week M is working fairly long hours and I'm trying to fit in 5 runs alongside Brownies and Guides. However, that kind of busy week is eminently manageable - which is odd when last week all I had to do was work and run and that wasn't manageable.

Breakfasts - Total greek yoghurt was on special this week, so I have a daily tub of that, plus strawberries/ blueberries or stewed rhubarb and grape nuts.

Lunches - salad and smoked mackerel for me.

Dinners -

Monday: Leftover slow roast pork with salad and baked sweet potatoes

Tuesday: Leftover slow roast pork in tortilla wraps, with guacamole, yoghurt and salad (rice for M)

Wednesday: Courgetti spaghetti

Thursday: M's night - sweet chilli chicken I think

Friday: Sausages, baked potatoes and salad

I'm baking a Nigella fruit cake with chopped up marzipan - so that'll be our cake quotient this week.

Happy Monday - and don't forget to get your inspiration from At Home with Mrs M and all the other meal planners.

Meal Planning Monday: The post-Olympic dip

I never thought I'd say it, but I got completely caught up in the Olympics. I'm now a minor expert in so many sports (some, I'd never even heard of before - Modern Pentathlon I'm looking at you) and how they can be done better, providing I can drink coffee whilst watching them and help with the commentary. No really, just ask me anything - mainly about diving, gymnastics and archery I give you that. I also made a red, white and blue pavlova. Oh yes, with softly whipped cream, blueberries (can I just say how much I adore our local Sainsbury's for reducing their fruit) Blogpost on that to come later this week.

So, all in all it's been a bit of a comedown today, the broadband hasn't been connected, I can't put off the housework any longer. However, Londoners are still being friendly to each other and I'm hoping the Paralympics heading over the horizon keeps it that way. That said, I'm working away from home and we all now how cheerful that makes me.

I did a mealplan for this week but left it at home so I'm doing this from memory.

Breakfasts: fruit, yoghurt with a sprinkle of grape nuts.

Lunch: today was leftover salad with avocado and a random piece of leftover mozzarella. Later in teh week, salad with ham.

Dinners:

Monday: M is having leftover steak, wedges, sweetcorn and mushrooms - it's a kind of assemble it yourself dinner. I've just spent the best part of forty minutes picking cheese and weird 'bacon' bits off a chicken breast and moving chips around the plate.

Tuesday: I'm out for dinner with a friend. M has tortellini with home made tomato pasta sauce.

Wednesday: Courgetti spaghetti

Thursday: M is at archery, so poached eggs with asparagus for me

Friday: Sausages, baked potatoes and salad

Saturday or Sunday I'm going to roast chicken - with lots of garlic and lemon, and greek potato salad. Mainly for the leftovers.

So a quiet, relatively uninspired week, hopefully next week will be better as I can't blame the Olympics ending for having no idea what to cook!

Be sure to hop over to At home with Mrs M to see what everyone else is up to.

Simple summer essentials part 3: The colour purple - Beetroot and feta salad

Baby beetroot and feta salad

What am I up to now? Part three? I think so, if you don't count Meal Planning Monday as part one. Or maybe I should. Which would make this Part four. Oh, who knows. I've got pavlova, poached eggs and steamed asparagus and raspberry cordial or vodka/ gin (still undecided) yet to come.

So far in the Simple Summer Essentials we've had:

Watercress, basil and parsley oil: two ways

Mozarella and tomato salad: (also) two ways

And now Baby beetroot and feta salad. Which I can't take credit for thinking up, because it's everywhere. And when I suddenly though - oooh I know, that's what I'll do, I realised I'd remembered it from Jules' recent post. Dammit. I did think about doing something different, but the baby beetroot with mint and raspberry were so sweet and were calling, calling I tell you(!) out to be made into salad. No, really they were.

It's less of a recipe in my case, and more of (as this week is themed) a Simple Summer essential. Where the recipe lies in this case is in the dressing. Jules' dressing looks lovely, but if we're doing Pantry summer essentials then a simple French dressing has to be included. Mine was once based on a Delia recipe, possibly from How to Cook, but that was a long time ago. Years have passed since I've opened the book, much less looked at the ingredients, but that said, hers was the inspiration.

French dressing (used here on beetroot, feta, tomatoes, pea shoots and some cucumber)

1 garlic clove, crushed (or squished on a bread board using the flat of your knife and some salt)
Pinch salt
Black pepper
Sprinkle mustard powder (maybe half a teaspoon or so? And I often substitute this with made up mustard if I've run out of powder)
Good olive oil, maybe about 4 tablespoons
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I love this more than is probably healthy)
1 tablespoon white wine/ cider vinegar

Add your crushed garlic, salt, pepper and mustard powder to a clean, empty jam jar and haphardly beat it together with a fork
Add the oil and vinegars, put the lid on the jar and shake like billy-oh until everything mixes together
Add to salads and store in the fridge

You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to: Tomato & mozzarella salad

 

But let's not call the whole thing off.

 

I said this week was going to be dedicated to simple summer essentials, and was keen from the outset to include my favourite summer salad: tomato and mozzarella.

 

But first, some background (or waffle - you decide and feel free to skip this paragraph). Growing up, salad for us, like many working class families, included the ubiquitous iceberg lettuce, watery tomatoes (although cherry were always my favourite) and cucumber. A summer staple, served with leftover roast meat or ham for packed lunches. The amazing thing about being a market shopper is the fact that you had to buy seasonal produce. Now it seems odd that those of us on lower incomes were embracing through necessity something which is now seen as a desirable indicator of one's ethical status and an appropriate choice to make. But enough preaching, you get the picture; salad = boring. And I have to admit it took me a long time to move away from the familiarity of that prescriptive recipe as it were. I remember a flatmate at uni adding dressing and mango to a chicken salad and thinking it wonderfully decadent. Adding croutons and thousand island dressing (yes, I know, kill me now) was my next step, and then - once again spurred on by Mr Oliver - I started to experiment. Watery tomatoes were replaced with home grown (actually that is a lie I distinctly remember my grandma growing tomatoes in her greenhouse and indulgently letting us eat them straight from the plants). Peppers were added and dressings experimented with. Over time I discovered first rocket, and then watercress preferring to grow my own in window boxes and plant pots than use the bagged, extortionate supermarket versions.

Today salad is once again a summer staple, it's largely diet friendly and means I get an extra serving of my five a day.

The produce Asda sent me was calling out to be made into a salad and my tummy was calling out for that to be my favourite. I'm including two ways of making this, not because I'm showing off, but because if you're left with some overripe tomatoes then slow roasting them first works best.

Now just before I get any further I want to address (possibly reiterate) the mozzarella equation:

• If you're eating mozzarella raw, such as in this salad - buy the best you can afford. The taste does make a difference. Please don't remortgage your house though, stay within reason.
• If you're cooking with mozzarella buy economy/ basics branded. In blind taste tests when the cheese has been cooked people categorically can't tell the difference.

 

Mozzarella and tomato salad (fresh tomatoes)
 

 

If you store your tomatoes in the fridge, get them out at least an hour before making this as it means you can taste the flavour of the fruit as opposed to just the cold.

 

Around 1 large or 2 medium (really, use your judgement) tomatoes per person

 

Mozzarella - usually balls are around 250g and I allow half a ball per person
Fresh basil or if you've had a glut of herbs you needed to preserve, a drizzle of basil oil. See tomorrow's post for details.

 

Slice the mozzarella and tomatoes about the thickness of a £1 coin
(I can't believe I just typed that, slice them how you want!) if you've not got a super sharp knife use a serrated one as it makes slicing tomatoes easier.

 

Scatter over fresh basil leaves, salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Or just salt, pepper and your herb oil

 If I'm being fancy I arrange them on a plate, alternating the tomato and cheese. If, on the other hand I'm making lunch for me I whack it all in a bowl and scoff greedily sat in as much sunshine as either the office, training room, front step or balcony can muster!

 Mozarella and tomato salad - take two: using overripe tomatoes

 

 

Halve all your ripe tomatoes and place them on a baking tray cut side up. Sprinkle with salt & pepper (and if you've got some fresh thyme lying around add that)
Drizzle over olive oil
Cook in a preheated oven - 200 degrees C ish for about 45 minutes, until the skins are just starting to blacken and the tops are wrinkly

Serve with your mozzarella, save the olive oil-y juices though and use that as a dressing with some basil

 

 

The roasted tomatoes will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Bring up to room temperature before using them though

So there you have it, my salad history and mozzarella and tomato salad two ways. What more could you want?

Salad Days - a warm spring salad

Today's lunch. Well, with the sun finally putting his hat on I thought it was time to crack out the salad. Not in their true sense, but a variation thereof. So here we have a warm salad. After all, there's still a nip in the air, and whilst this sates my need for something healthy (I use the term loosely) it does still have strong flavours and a sense - from the oil in the dressing of being luxurious. 

This was one of those recipes that came to me whilst looking in the fridge, and just putting things together in my head. In terms of a recipe it's more of a loose approximation of what needed using up and would go relatively well together. Despite having a surfeit of parsnips and carrots, they didn't make their way in as I didn't fell they fitted with the other veg. 

Warm Spring Salad

1 bulb fennel sliced so it's still relatively chunky

2 courgettes, cubed

1 yellow pepper, cubed

1 orange pepper, cubed (by the way, Sainsbury's Basics peppers are brilliant, and much much cheaper than their regular ones)
1 leek sliced finely

1/2 a chorizo sausage, skinned and cubed

1 bulb garlic, smashed

Drizzle of olive oil

Dried thyme, sprinkled (probably about a teaspoon)

2 bay leaves

2 glasses white wine/ veg stock

Salt and Pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Rocket or watercress to serve

Aubergine, celery, cherry tomatoes would all be good additions, it's just I didn't have them.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees

Chop your vegetables so that they're roughly the same size and put them in a roasting tin. Try to keep them in one layer so that they cook relatively evenly

Add the chorizo, garlic cloves, herbs and salt and pepper

Drizzle with some olive oil and pour the white wine/ veg stock (about half a pint/ 2 wine glasses of either) over the veg

Cook in the preheated oven for about half an hour. Or until the veg is soft and starting to caramelise on the edges

Take out of the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes (so it's nice and warm but neither hot nor cold)

Serve in a bowl with lots of rocket or watercress (the pepperiness cuts through the dressing)

Pour off a little of the oil and cooked down wine into a jam jar, add some balsamic vinegar (sherry or white wine vinegar would be fine I imagine) put the lid on and give a good shake. Pour this over your warm salad and either toss through or if you're lazy like me, do some work while it sits on the side. 

Serve with some crusty bread, it's an idea working from home lunch in that it feels a bit more decadent than sandwiches or soup, but as it's basically a fridge bottom recipe is cheap and uses up veg that might be slightly past it's best. 

Alteration:

I would use the veg base for this as the basis of a sausage bake and serve with baked potatoes for an evening meal. It would be lovely, and you could spoon off some of the oils, and make a kind of gravy with any burnt bits of veg on the bottom of the pan. Lovely. 

Salad Days: Beetroot, green bean and feta salad

The eagle (owl) eyed amongst you will notice that there is, no photo of this meal. That is because this is quite possible the least photogenic thing I have ever made. Literally. I always thought that casseroles with their brown colours and squishy ingredients were unattractive, but that was before I made this salad. To read the ingredients you would think (as did I) that it had the potential to be stunning, that the verdant greens of the leaves and beans would contrast stunningly with the white goat's cheese and ruby beetroot, all annointed by the faint pink blush of the dressing.

However what I ended up was a tasty mush of goats cheese squished over the beans and leaves, with the beetroot that bloody red that's almost black. The Chanel Rouge Noir of vegetables. I would absolutely recommend you make and try this salad as it is gorgeously tasty, but photograph the ingredients beforehand - do some tasteful arranging on a wooden chopping board, or worktop.

This recipe is a Riverford veg one. I came to it following the second delivery this season of beetroot. I cooked the first batch and left it in the oven to cool, wrapped in foil. At which point I promptly forgot about it for the best part of the rest of the week. Yes, my name is Penelope and I have scatty, slatternish tendencies. What a waste! I was so cross with myself as I love beetroot - there's something about the earthiness of the flavour that seems such a contrast to it's sweetness - which is why I've often used it in cakes, in a similar way to the courgette brownies I made here - which, oddly was also a Riverford recipe.

On a side note, what's quite nice about going back to that post is that my photography skills are actually beginning to improve - at least slightly!

So today Penelope's Pantry brings you... the world's least attractive salad:

Summer salad with beetroot, goat’s cheese + Frenchbeans

Roast or boil the beetroot - to do that, wash and trim them (keep the leaves for the salad) then place in a dish in a preheated oven (200 degreesish) for about 45 minutes. Riverford suggest adding water to the dish and covering with foil - but in the Pantry we fly by the seat of our pants and just wallop them in and take them out when they're softened. This will take about 45-60 mins, depending on size Oh and if you don't want to go out looking like you've committed murder, then wear clean marigolds, or latex gloves. Scrubbing with salt and lemon juice works if you ignore this advice. Said as one who knows!

Ingredients

300g mixed summer salad leaves

150g French beans, trimmed

200g cooked beetroot, cut into 2cm cubes

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp good-quality red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

Salt + pepper

100g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled

Salad leaves - I used the beetroot tops and some bagged salad that had come in my Riverford box last week.

Method

1. Wash the salad leaves and dry well. Cook the beans in boiling salted water for 3–4 mins, until just tender, then drain, refresh in cold water and drain again.

2. Put them in a large bowl with the salad leaves and beetroot.

3. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar and some seasoning together to make a dressing.

4. Toss with the salad then sprinkle with goat’s cheese.

Step 4 is where I came unstuck. My goat's cheese didn't exactly sprinkle per se. More squished. Maybe you have a more gentle touch than me. Here's hoping yours doesn't turn out mushy as it's lovely, really fantastic contrasting tastes and textuertures.

I used the beetroot while still warm, partly due to time pressures, partly because that was what I fancied. As the other ingredients were fridge cold or room temperature this again made for a nice contrast.

The Riverford recipe suggests that this serves 4 as an accompaniment to lamb - but I had it as a standalone dish, but this meant it did 2 portions instead of the 4.

Other suggestions are to swap out the beetroot when it's not in season for butternut squash and I'll definitely be trying that, although I'll have to ask a beauty blogger for some help with nail polish names to match that!

Next up - some jams and excitingly my first jellies; plum, and crabapple and mint.  

Meal Planning Monday: the Beefeater conundrum

It's that time of the week again, and normally I'm super excited to plan my menus and shop for Mark and I, using my veg box to ensure what we're eating is healthy, seasonal whilst enabling us to try different things. However, in contrast to my usual geeky 'what shall I cook this week?' excitement, this week and last I've been working away and owing to my inability to drive have been limited to the restaurant adjacent to the hotel. This has been my introduction to the wonderful world of the Beefeater. Now, whilst I like good food I've never thought of myself as a food snob. Until now. Which makes me sad.

I have to say that the breakfasts were great, fresh and dried fruit, yoghurt and granola were on offer as well as the more traditional cooked offerings. For me though, the former is the ideal start to the day, and pretty typical of what I have at home. Which was a promising start. If only it had been followed up on.

The menu for the Beefeater looks impressive, and the selection of grilled meat is varied. However, if you have a budget to stick to as I do, you are limited in your choices - for me, chicken seemed the best place to start. The waiter couldn't confirm if the chicken was free range, which is always a concern as I'm keen not to OK battery farmed meat by consuming it.

As I'm still dieting, I was hoping that salads or veggies would be on offer, but Beefeater it seems is all about the carbs; chips, baked potatoes, boiled potatoes. And everything was so salty. Really quite unpleasant.

Salad bowls were tiny, predominantly slightly sad lettuce and chopped onion, with a vinegary dressing and veggies just weren't on offer. The vegetarian options on the menu were predominantly cheese and pasta/ rice based and as part of my dieting I'm trying to keep carbs relatively low.  I'm hoping that this week will bring better things. Last week I tried to cram a week's veggies into Friday night dinner.  No, seriously. Fortunately I can snack on fruit during the day, but I am desperate for my usual regular intake of veggies.

It's such a shame as the idea of well cooked meat with vegetables would be terrific - ideal in fact. If they were to add in some halloumi and some more fish, and could verify the provenance of their meat I wouldn't resent paying the prices. As it is, it seems ridiculously high and underwhelms.

I won't be cooking again until Friday, this week I think I'll celebrate my weekend with roasted vegetables, couscous, feta and salad. A whole lot of salad.
Saturday M is out for the day, so I'm going to do some shopping and housework, and I think I'm going to have a bash at something along the lines of a Tom Yum soup, unless it's sweltering, then more salad will be the name of the game. Sunday I think I'm going to roast a chicken as I'm hoping to be around a bit more next week.
Hopefully everyone else's week's are more interesting than mine - don't forget to pop over to At home with Mrs M and see all the linkies.

The distance you have come: Harissa lentil salad

My second lentil based post in a week. Clearly they're like buses.

I really love the music of Scott Alan, his music allows one to be contemplative and is often what I listen to when I'm feeling low. Late last year when I was verging on homeless and things weren't great, friends Louise and Karen suggested listening to The distance you have come and it really seemed to sum up what I was thinking.

Anyway, this week I've left my job of nearly five years working for a local authority, for an opportunity to develop my skills and take some new chances working in the Learning Disability sector. It's a big jump, scary and exciting all at once and I hope it's going to afford me the opportunities for happiness at work, which in turn will mean for more settled, less emotional blogging. Fingers crossed and all that.

So this was my last week of work - as always Sunday night found me up later than planned, multitasking in my pyjamas: breaking in new shoes I wanted to wear on Monday, making lentil salad, talking to Mark on the phone - all of which I did with aplomb and finnesse, surrounded by a lot of wet washing (what IS up with the weather lately?). The lentil salad was another I'd offered to test for Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and I'm pleased to say it was without the drama of the spicy tomato lentils.

It was surprisingly low faff, and easy I popped half a cup of lentils into the stock in my big pan and let that reduce down for just under half an hour, then added chopped cucumber, finely shredded greens, red and green peppers, and some mushrooms (I like my lunches to be as good for me as possible - it justifies afternoon cake). I stirred this in until the greens had wilted, and added the amazingly scented harissa powder, lemon zest and juice and a tablespoon of olive oil. Suddenly what had seemed fairly plain and ordinary was lifted into something extraordinary, fragrant and lightly spiced, with the zing of the lemon behind the harissa. I'm really looking forward to trying it for lunch tomorrow, but I have to say, tasted from the pan in my pyjamas and heels I give it a thumbs up.

The recipe is here, and I think really flexible - as you can see I upped the veggies considerably, and you could easily change them for ones you like -I just used what was lurking in the fridge.