Month: July 2015
I’m baaaaaack!
Hello readers! I hope you are all well and have been eating some yummy food!
I’ve been a bit AWOL. But there’s good reason…I am now the proud mother of my baby boy, we’ll call him Mini Rod, who is 5 months old. We’re currently starting weaning so I am hoping to share my love of good food with him now. Though carrot wasn’t a massive hit, banana seems to be!
Anyway, I’ve been working on some new recipes for you and hope you enjoy them… 🙂 x
Quick and Easy
Here are a couple of my favourite things to eat when I’m in a rush.
Since having Mini Rod I’ve developed a few recipes that I can whip up in less than 10/15 minutes at lunchtime. That fact they take mere minutes to prepares means that not only are they really tasty, they’re convenient too – not a ready meal in sight in our house!
So here we have it. Avocado and Smoked Salmon Toast and my Super Speedy Mushroom Pasta.
I love Avocado Toast anyway, but the addition of Smoked Salmon makes it feel really substantial and luxurious.
Ingredients – Serves 1
2 thick Slices really good bread – I like Sourdough
1/2 a really ripe avocado
60g smoked salmon
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
Method
Toast the bread. In the meantime, mash the avocado with salt and pepper and set aside.
Once the bread is toasted, drizzle it with the olive oil and spread with the mashed avocado. Top with smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon juice. Devour and make lots of yummy noises!
Super Speedy Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients – Serves 1
100g dried pasta – I like pappardelle
Handful of mushrooms -sliced
Handful of chopped parsley
1/2 clove of garlic – crushed
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Method
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add salt. When it is rolling, add the pasta and stir.
In a frying pan, heat the oil and garlic, add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Turn off the heat.
The pasta is likely to be cooked now, so drain it, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with the mushrooms and toss it all together, adding some of the reserved cooking water if it goes a little dry.
Serve piping hot, topped with a little cheese if you want. Lovely jubbly.
Mixed Bean Quesadillas
One of these will serve 2 as a light lunch or one for dinner. Its one of my favourite things to make when im in a rush because its maximum flavour for minimum effort! It also works out fairly inexpensive to make.
Quesadillas are a fab alternative to a sandwich, perfect for kids and grown ups alike, just watch the salt and use wholegrain tortillas for the little ones. They’re handheld, full of goodness and have melted cheese. What’s not to like?!
Top tip – Make these the day before for lunchboxes, just wrap in foil once cooked and cooled.
Ingredients (Makes 4 Quesadillas)
8 Flour Tortillas
2 Onions – chopped
1 can mixed beans – drained
1 red pepper – chopped
2tsp Paprika
2tsp Ground Coriander
2tsp Ground Cumin
100g Medium Cheddar (or more!) – Grated
Half a bunch of fresh coriander – chopped
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Method
Sauté onions and red pepper in olive oil with a pinch of salt and the spices. Once they are softened, add the mixed beans and fresh coriander. When the mixture is hot, mash with a potato masher and season. Set aside.
Place a tortilla into a clean pan on a medium heat and sprinkle over some grated cheese, add a layer of the beans and some more cheese, then place another tortilla on top. When the base is brown and crisp, carefully flip it over and brown the other side.
Once both sides are brown and the cheese is melted, cut into wedges and serve (or cool for lunchboxes). I like these with sour cream and homemade guacamole. Delish!
rodskitchen 