Cooking the Books ~ August

Yesterday I stopped by a shop to buy some wine. While there the local radio was playing with the weather forecast so I stopped to listen....cloud and showers was the forecast for the next week. I told the cashier that I was hoping for better weather as I had family visiting from Scotland and was hoping they would have sun for the last few days. We chatted for a bit while the transaction went through and then as I thanked her and went to leave she said to me "Enjoy your time with your family - it is precious time" to which I responded "I couldn't agree more, it really is". We said good bye and I left......

That is why I haven't really been on my blog and while I am so late on posting my cookbook review choice for August (and still have to post one from July)! That being said I got Homemade Summer by Yvette Van Boven as a Birthday present from my Brother and Sister-in-law and having never heard of it I'm so excited to cook from it and review it before Summer comes to an end.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing I hope you are all having a great Summer. I'll get this review up as soon as I've stopped having so much fun with my family ;)

*You can now read this review! To read it click here.

Cookbook Review ~ Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson

Although Forever Summer is one of Nigella's older books (first published in 2003), I pull it off the bookshelf ever year at the first sign of Summer, so this year I thought it was the perfect time to review it and really put the recipes to the test.

To be fair although this is a book full of bright Summery recipes it's sole intention is not just to be cooked from in those balmy Summer months, but rather year-round to remind you in the darkest, coldest days of Winter about those blue skies that seem at that point like a distant memory. In all honesty however, I don't think I have ever cooked from it in Winter as the majority of ingredients are Summer based and although I'm not a super strict follower of using what's in season I do try my best so it's extremely unlikely that you would ever find me making her recipe for Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad in the middle of our Winter (unless of course I was sunning myself in a hot tropical location!).

The book is divided up into 'First Course', 'Second Course', 'Dessert' and 'Drinks' but within each main chapter are plenty more categories such as Starters, Salad, Pasta, Fish and so on, so every area is covered. Having bookmarked lots of recipes in the end 5 recipes were put to the test.... 

Cookbook Challenge ~ Week 2

Well I lasted 7 days (a full week!)....but then I failed! Thanksgiving proved to be too much and on Thanksgiving Monday following a day of cooking a huge feast I couldn't resist a quiet day of enjoying left-overs, so that was that. I don't feel too guilty though – as I said on last week's update, it really is proving to be far too much food for the 3 (ok so more like 2 ½!) of us and I am definitely trying to eliminate waste!! Unfortunately though the hiatus continued on Tuesday as I wasn't feeling well and definitely not up to cooking so another fail.... I got straight back to it on Wednesday though and made up for it by trying 3 new recipes (ok so they were all super simple but still a recipe is a recipe!!) Here's how the rest of Week 2 panned out......

Day 8:  Thanksgiving Monday – nadda!

Day 9:  Not feeling well – nothing again! : (

Day 10:  Fudgy Brownies (EYTF)  A definite thumbs up and at only 86 calories per piece you can't complain, however they are tiny little squares which might make you be tempted to have more than 1! Super easy to make and perfect if you are watching your calories.

Prawns with Maryam Zaira Sauce (Nigella Express)  Another thumbs up and not just because it's delicious, but because it's super quick and easy to make. The perfect starter, this is a Moroccan inspired version of the classic UK style Prawn Cocktail.

Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata {NE}  I eat Mozzarella any way I can so I was delighted to find something a little different. Even more so when I saw that this 'crazy gremolata' included olives and chillies – 2 of my favourite ingredients. Before I even made this I knew I couldn't go wrong and I was right – completely delicious, quick and easy!

Day 11:  Granola {MFM} This is just 1 recipe for Granola that I bookmarked from several of the chosen books for this challenge but I couldn't resist this version because it just seemed to have a little bit of everything in it! It also makes a lot of granola which was another bonus. It was easy to make, more so just a question of measuring out the ingredients and stirring them up before letting the oven take over for 25 minutes. A delicious Granola which I enjoy scattered over some yogurt. I don't think it will last long in our house!

Minestrone in Minutes {NE} From the moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to try since it promised me a delicious minestrone in minutes using only 4 ingredients....how could I not try it. It really did take no time at all to make – the hardest part was waiting 10 minutes before eating it! I don't ever buy bought pasta/tomato sauces so I would probably change the one I bought but if you have a favourite bought tomato sauce then you will love this soup. I couldn't resist by finishing mine off with a sprinkling of some chilli, parsley and for completely unnecessary indulgence and greed, a little grating of cheese. It was delicious!! I will definitely make this again when I need something filling and hearty in a hurry!

Split Pea Dhal and Cauliflower Curry {MFM} Since it was National Curry Week (in the UK anyway!) at the time of making this I felt I had to make a curry (any excuse!), but I loved the idea of making a vegetarian curry, especially since I had cauliflower left over in my fridge. I was delayed a day making it because I had to let the yellow split-peas soak over night but that wasn't a big deal. Both recipes serve 4 but there was again there was a lot more than 4 servings for us. Both the dishes were good – a was a little worried about the Dhal but by the time I added some salt and finished it was the onion topping it was really delicious. The curry as it was wasn't great and I ended up adding some curry paste to it towards the end to give it more flavour. By the time I did that it was great, it was just a touch bland before hand. We both enjoyed the meal but I'm not sure if I will make those particular recipes again as I have lots of other vegetable curry recipes that I prefer (such as Jamie Oliver's Curry Rogan Josh).

Day 12:  Eggs Italian Style {EYTF} Another success from Eat Yourself Thin Faster. This was a great breakfast which was quick and easy to make, tasted fantastic, kept me full for ages and was only 186 calories! I will definitely make this again and again as something a little different!

Day 13:  Day off

Day 14: Sweet Potato Gratin {EYTF}  It was a miserable rainy day so it was the perfect day for a Roast Beef Dinner, so I made this Sweet Potato Gratin as a side dish. It was really easy to make and although there seemed to be little lumps through it (which I assumed was flour) you didn't taste it. That being said I would make it slightly differently next time to make sure that didn't happen again. Really delicious and the perfect side dish! 

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So there you have it! Since the initial challenge (which was to make 1 dish a day) has failed a little, the targets I will use are to reach 31 recipes by October 31st. Here's how I am doing so far.....

Target no. of dishes = 31
Dishes made so far = 18 

Cauliflower & Gruyere Soup {And Challenge Update}

This soup, courtesy of Ross Dobson and his book Kitchen Seasons, is rich, indulgent and utterly delicious – so good, that I thought it would be rude not to share it with you and I would hate to be considered rude! If you really want to get an idea of what this soup is like then think fondue meets cauliflower and cheese and you will get an idea of how amazing it is. The end result is a smooth, silky soup that is perfect for a cold night snuggled up by the fire. All you need to go with it is some nice crusty bread.

Serves 4-6 (book says 4, I got 6 easily)

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 small cauliflower (about 1kg), cut into small pieces

1.5 litres chicken or vegetable stock

250ml double/ whipping cream

200g gruyere cheese, grated (plus a little extra for serving)

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

sprinkling of fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the butter in a large pan until melted and bubbling. Add the onion and celery and cook for roughly 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to the boil then leave to gently boil for roughly 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is really soft and breaking up.

Leave to cool slightly then puree in a blender in batches until silky smooth. Return the soup to the heat and add the cream and cheese, then cook over a low heat, stirring, until the cheese has melted completely. Season with a little salt and pepper then taste and adjust as necessary. Serve hot in bowls sprinkled with some extra cheese and the parsley and enjoy with some crusty bread.

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Week 1 of the Cookbook Challenge

As I reminder and to those of you that perhaps missed the original post, on October 1^st I challenged myself to a full month of cooking using 10 cookbooks, with a minimum of 1 recipe per day (see here for the full challenge). Here is a quick recap of how my first week went....

Well I managed the first week without too many problems but to be honest this challenge is definitely a lot harder than I thought! I knew it wasn't going to be easy – the planning and scouring the books for recipes I wanted to try was and still is extremely time consuming and a little overwhelming to be honest, but the biggest obstacle I'm finding is that it's just too much food!! There are always left-overs which is great but slowly the fridge is getting more and more filled with Tupperware containers and we just can't keep up! Since part of the challenge was to keep it low in cost I'm going to have to cut back a little.... That being said I am still enjoying it – trying lots of new recipes and reading and re-reading a variety of cookbooks. Out of the 9 recipes I made in week 1, I haven't had any major disasters! Perhaps a couple of recipes that I might not make again, or if I do will have to adjust but really that's not bad going. My favourite recipes of the 9 are both soup recipes and both from the book Kitchen Seasons by Ross Dobson. I have also really enjoyed the recipes from The Meat Free Mondays Cookbook and will be cooking a third time from that book tonight. Here's hoping week 2 is another successful week!

The Tested Recipes:

Day 1:   Strawberry& Banana Smoothie {The Meat Free Mondays Cookbook} ( big thumbs up –   have already made again)

Lentil, Chickpea, Cheddar & Onion Burgers with Winter Coleslaw {The Meat Free Mondays Cookbook}( thumbs up – would make again)

Day 2:   Violet Morning Smoothie {Eat Yourself Thin Faster} ( thumbs up – will make again)

Day 3:   Quinoa & Roasted Tomato Salad {MFM}( as it is it's a miss, but it can definitely be adapted to make it tasty so I might do that. It tasted better on the second day so I haven't ruled it out completely!)

Cauliflower & Gruyere Soup {Kitchen Seasons} (good but even better the next day! It is rich and calorie laden so this is one I would keep for a special occasion. Think fondue meets soup! (See above for recipe.)

Day 4:    Raspberry-Oat Muffins {Pretty Delicious} (easy to make, good taste but bottoms stuck to the wrapper and texture was pretty chewy one cooled. I'm undecided if I will try them again.)

Day 5:    Carrot & Lentil Soup {Kitchen Seasons} ( fantastic! Tasted like the lentil soup my mum used to make and I could probably have eaten the entire pot! Loved it and will be making it all winter long!!)

Day 6:    Orange-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry on Brown Rice {Pretty Delicious} (really good and will definitely make again. Has quite a kick to it so miss out/cut down the amount of cayenne pepper if you don't want it spicy.)

Day 7:    Breakfast Burrito {Eat Yourself Thin Faster} ( A perfect start to the day and a slightly healthier option as well! I loved adding the chopped chillies to the scrambled eggs for a bit of a kick but it did mean I had to make a 2^nd spice-free version for Wee One! I also added more turkey sausage than the recipe called for as ½ a sausage seemed ridiculous!! Anyway it was delicious and both hubby and I really enjoyed it! I will definitely make these again.)

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