Creamy, juicy chickpea pasta

Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well and you are enjoying this Bank Holiday Monday. So far the weather has been lovely and warm and it’s pretty quiet outside.

This is as a very delicious meal with lovely flavours from the spices and lots of nutritious vegetables. One of those recipes where you can use up leftover vegetables you have in the fridge or freezer. I used less pasta here so the sauce and vegetables were the star of the dish. Even though I have been cooking pasta for years, it often ends up being more than needed so I just put in a smaller portion.

Serves 1

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
Sprinkle of cumin, coriander, ginger powder, turmeric, black pepper and chilli powder
Handful tinned chickpea
Half portion pasta
20g tinned coconut milk
1 tsp tomato ketchup
Handful of shredded Brussels sprouts
Handful of spinach
Handful of corn
Handful of peas

Method
1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and chilli powder
2. Mix in the chickpeas and pasta until fully coated, then stir in the coconut milk, ketchup and water depending on how thin/thick you want the sauce to be. Lid on and leave on a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in all the vegetables (adding some water if needed) and leave on a low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Once everything is cooked serve and enjoy!

Thanks for reading, A

Salad and quinoa

Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well.

Today is a nice and simple recipe. Not to heavy and perfect for after work when I want to be healthy but not too much effort! A lovely combination of salad and flavoured grains. I soak the lentils and quinoa for a couple hours before cooking, just to reduce the overall cooking time.

Ingredients list is estimated as nothing was measured

Ingredients
Handful of quinoa
Handful of red lentils
Pinch of stock cube
Sprinkle of chilli powder
1 tsp tomato ketchup
Sprinkle of turmeric
2 inch spring onion, finely sliced
1/2 tub watercress
1 inch cucumber, finely sliced
1 small carrot, grated
2 radish, grated

Method
1. Place the quinoa, lentils, stock, chilli powder, ketchup, turmeric and spring onion into a pot with enough water for cooking.
2. Put on a low to medium heat to gently cook.
3. In the meantime, prepare the salad and set aside.
4. Once the quinoa and lentils are done, drain off any excess liquid and mix well with a fork.
5. Place the salad and quinoa on a plate and enjoy.

Do you like quinoa, if so what’s your favourite way to cook it?

Thanks for reading, A.

Homemade honey lemon cake

Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well.

I haven’t really baked from scratch in a while and I had the urge to bake something sweet so here is my honey lemon cake. I enjoy baking but I don’t want to make a habit of eating too much sweet stuff especially if its unhealthy. This cake was much thinner than expected, as I half a recipe that was used for inspiration but the flavour is rich enough, so this size worked out fine. The honey provides a subtle sweetness and the lemon is also sweet but tangy. This will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days and you could also freeze it.

Makes 5 small slices – if you want a decent sized loaf then double the recipe 🙂

Ingredients

50g butter

40g honey

1 egg

55g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 lemon, zested

1 tbsp lemon juice

Honey lemon drizzle: 1 tbsp honey mixed with 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a loaf tin with baking paper
2. Cream the butter and honey together until smooth
3. Add the egg and mix well
4. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together then gradually add to the butter mix
5. Mix the in the lemon zest and juice then put into the loaf tin
6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until fully cooked
7. In the meantime mix the honey lemon drizzle together
8. Place the cake on a wire rack and spoon over the drizzle.
9. Enjoy warm or cold

What’s your favourite cake flavour?

Thanks for reading, A

Changing with the seasons

Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well.

Although the new year was technically the start of January, I always feel like April is the proper start to the new year. April/spring feels more like the time when you want to make those changes, clear out the clutter and make way for new things. The flowers all start blooming, the days are longer and lighter and everyone is just much happier 😊

By the end of December and start of January people put so much pressure on themselves to set resolutions, become a different /evolved person but it’s still cold at this time and most people just want to stay at home and be wrapped up and cosy…

If you didn’t manage to stick to your new years resolutions, start again now! I’ve not long rearranged my furniture and packed away those thermals to make way for the lighter clothing items. Interestingly though, as I write this, it’s actually quite a gloomy, rainy day but we have to accept the balance of the weather.

Thanks for reading, A

Green lentil and vegetable stew

Hey Everyone, I hope your day has been well.

This stew was full of green vegetables and simple to make. The potatoes were really tasty as they’d soaked up all the flavours and it makes for a delicious midweek meal when your short for time but still want something filling and healthy. I served this stew with air fried dumplings but rice or flatbreads would go just as well.

Makes 2 portions

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1/4 onion, diced

Pinch of salt

Sprinkle of curry powder

1 tsp tomato puree

60g green lentils, soaked over night or for a few hours

2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

500ml coconut milk (may need to add more liquid)

Handful of broccoli, cut into florets

Handful of garden peas

Handful of kale

Pinch of chilli powder

Method

• Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions once hot, cooking for a few minutes until soft.
• Next sprinkle over the salt, curry powder and tomato paste cooking for 2 minutes.
• Mix in the lentils, potato and milk then leave on a gentle simmer for 10-12 minutes until the lentils and potato are both cooked – keep checking the liquid as you may need to add more.
• Turn to a low heat adding in the broccoli, peas, kale and chilli powder cooking for a further 5 minutes.
• Once everything is fully cooked, serve and enjoy!

What is your favourite type of stew?

Thanks for reading, A