We have moved!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for following me all this time. I am pleased to say we have moved to a different website, so from now on please find me blogging on my new site: https://ramshallseat.wordpress.com/

Thanks so much, see you there!

Jess

Adults roast pork & leek parpadelle

I roasted a pork joint last night and there were some leftovers. This is a great way to use up your Sunday roast, it would also work great with chicken. This recipe made 2 very large adult servings. 

INGREDIENTS 

1 medium size leek cleaned and cut in to 5mm slices. 

2 cups of your leftover cooked pork (or chicken) cut in to bizesize chunks 

1tbsp olive oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1tsp dried tarragon

1tsp fennel seeds

Fresh parpadelle (enough for two portions) 

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese 

 

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the leek until it is soft. Add the pork, tarragon and fennel and cook for a few minutes to let the flavours combine. Next add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. 

Cook the parpadelle according to instructions. Drain (catching some of the starchy water in a cup) then tip the pasta in to the sauce and let it cook together for a couple of minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce. If it feels a bit dry use a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it slightly. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Baby weening breakfast frittata

Theo is eight months old and loves omelette for breakfast, this is a great way to get some vegetables in and those ever important vitamins! 

Follow my weening journey here http://mylittlemuncher.blogspot.co.uk/

INGREDIENTS 

1/2 small red pepper finely cut in to tiny cubes

Handful spinach leaves finely chopped

2 freerange eggs 

2tsp rapeseed oil

In a small frying pan heat the oil and gently fry the red pepper until very soft. Add the spinach and let it wilt. Whisk the eggs and add to the pan, stir until the base is evenly covered with the vegetables and egg mix and cook for two minutes. Then put under a hot grill for a few more minutes until it is thoroughly cooked all the way through and browned on top. Leave to cool and cut in to baby friendly finger size chunks. This will keep in the fridge for three days. 

Baby blueberry pancakes

INGREDIENTS

1cup self raising flour

1/2 cup blueberries 

1 whole egg

5oz babies usual milk or formula 

Vegetable oil for cooking 

Tip all the ingredients in to a mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan and spoon small rounds of the batter in to the pan. Cook on a medium

Heat until browned on one side, gently flip over and cook until the other side is golden brown. 

Cool and cut in to easy to grip fingers  before serving. 

Follow my weening journey http://mylittlemuncher.blogspot.co.uk/ 

What I've been up to

I have not been posting many recipes recently because my life is consumed with the journey that is weening my now 7 month old son Theodore. I'm loving creating interesting dishes for him to try and watching his little face as he tastes things for the first time.

To follow my journey I have created a new blog http://mylittlemuncher.blogspot.co.uk/ which I hope you will follow too.

Happy munching!

Easter treats

I love a good chocolate cake. This one is deep and fudgy and so rich it sticks to your mouth and makes you want to hit the gym! 

I've made this recipe before: http://ramshalleat.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/the-ultimate-chocolate-cake.html?m=1

The only changes I made were to add a teaspoon of almond extract and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake batter along with a pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavours. 

The icing was the same as on the recipe, and I decorated with shards of white chocolate. 

The same cake batter mixture can be used to make individual lava cakes. Simply butter small ramekin dishes, scoop 3/4 full with the cake mixture and chill for 30 mins. 

Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius and bake the ramekins for 8 minutes. Then serve dusted with icing sugar and perhaps some strawberries with cream. 

Long weekend Friday night dinner

I haven't written for ages because I've got a 5 month old baby and although I'm still cooking fresh healthy meals for my family I haven't had time to write my blog. In addition we are getting our kitchen redone so it's all been a bit hectic. However the sleepless nights are becoming a thing of the past and I'm hoping to get a bit more time to sit and write.

Last nights dinner was a super simple frittata I made to use up some leftover sweet potato mash and ricotta in the fridge. You can use any veggies you want  to chuck in this, but I used green beans, cauliflower and peas because that's what I had. This recipe makes 4 large wedges of frittata.

Dessert was decedent limoncello bathed strawberries with a sweet almond cream. 

FRITTATA 

1tbsp olive oil and a small knob of butter, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 small red onion, small handful green beans, small handful frozen peas, 5 small florets cooked cauliflower,  1 sweet potato mashed with a pinch of chilli flakes, 150g ricotta cheese, 2 medium eggs, 3 tbsp grated Parmesan, pinch salt and pepper. 

Chop the onion in to small cubes and gently fry in the oil and butter until soft. Add the beans, peas and cooked cauliflower (chop beans and cauliflower if you wish in to smaller chunks) and gently fry stirring frequently until soft, then crush the garlic and add to the pan. Add the sweet potato mash and combine everything thoroughly then pat down to create an even round disk of veg in the base of your frying pan.

In a bowl mix the ricotta and eggs along with salt and pepper. Spread the egg mix on top, sprinkle with Parmesan and pop under a hot grill for a few minutes until the eggy mixture has set and the cheese is bubbling. 

It's not the most elegant looking meal but it's so delicious! We ate this on its own piled on to plates with a glass of crisp white Chenin Blanc wine. However to make more of a meal you could serve this with a green salad and chunks of crispy bread. 

Dessert was easy, I cut a few strawberries up and put in to bowls, then sprinkled over a tablespoon of limoncello liqueur. I then whipped a pot of double cream with 2 tablespoons icing sugar and a few drops of almond extract until it formed soft peaks. I put a big dollop of cream on top of the strawberries and served.