Daisy Chains and Picnics

  I had some leftover green vegetables in the fridge from previous meals, lettuce, celery and spring onions and a packet of chicken noodle soup that was coming up for its best before date. I chucked them all in my multi cooker along with some other ingredients and made a green veg soup. I used my multi cooker set on soup for 30 minutes, but you can use a pan on the stove top or a pressure cooker. Soup is a great way to use up leftovers, just throw a few ingredients in a pot and you have a tasty, healthy soup in no time. Ingredients 50g packet chicken noodle soup handful green oakleaf lettuce 5-6 celery stalks & leaves 2-3 spring onions, sliced handful asparagus stalks 1 onion, diced 1 large potato, peeled, diced 3 large garlic cloves, sliced 2 bay leaves 1 tsp fresh thyme  1 tsp ground turmeric dash ground ginger dash ground sumac 500ml beef stock Method 1.  Make chicken noodle soup according to packet directions. Transfer to multi cooker or your preferred way of cook...

  We love stovies, the perfect comfort food for cold evenings and an ideal way to use up leftover meats. I had some corned beef leftover from Scott's sandwiches so that became the base for these stovies. Ingredients 1-2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 kg potatoes (suitable for mashing) 300ml beef stock 1 beef oxo cube 1 tin corned beef Method 1.  Peel and thinly slice potatoes. 2.  Heat oil in a large deep pan over a medium heat until hot. Add onions and fry until golden. 3.  Add sliced potatoes, beef stock and crumbled oxo cube. Stir to combine ingredients well. Cover with lid, turn heat up to medium-high, bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring every few minutes. Cook for 40-50 minutes or until potato is soft and tender. 4.  Using a potato masher, roughly break the potatoes into smallish pieces. Cut corned beef into small chunks. Add to potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and corned beef has brea...

It's no secret I have a huge crush on Palm Springs, I adore everything about it from the dessert weather, palm trees, cacti, to the brightly coloured hotels and shops. We have been fortunate to visit there twice and I so hope that Scott & I can go back again one day. photo credit Cerys. That was why we wanted to upgrade the pool area to add a cabana in place of the chalet, where we could relax and sit undercover by the pool. I wanted to create a calming area with a Palm Springs feel to it where we could sit as a family in the summer evenings and weekends enjoying the pool that we had put a huge amount of blood, sweat & tears building. See post  here 29th August 2020, we stumbled upon a plant sale just up the back from our house and to my delighted they were selling some cacti, small ones, so much more affordable than large fully grown ones (I am just going to have to be patient!!) which I added to the two cacti I have had for about 8 years, so we made a cacti and succ...

No recipe needed for this one, just a delicious sarnie full of tasty cheese and various salad items. Ingredients 2 slice wholegrain bread 4 thin slices of cheese 4 leaf salad mix sliced tomato sliced cucumber sliced spring onion salad cream salt and pepper  Method 1.  Spread one slice of bread with margarine or butter. 2.  Arrange salad leaves, cheese, tomato, cucumber and spring onion on buttered bread.  Season with salt and pepper. Spread salad cream over other slice of bread, sandwich together and enjoy.

A rich, tangy tomato based curry, that's quick and easy, this curry is an ideal healthy meat free option. Scott came home the other day with some homegrown tomatoes from Sally. There were two different types, some plum tomatoes. I was going to make a tomato tart but decided on a curry instead, minus meat, which makes this curry vegan. I used the plum tomatoes to chop and kept the others to cut into wedges. This curry wasn't overly spicy, I would say medium/mild but if you prefer milder, remove the seeds from the red chilli. Ingredients 2 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 tbsp grated ginger 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, chopped 2 sprigs thyme 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 2 tbsp tomato paste 200ml vegetable stock Method 1.  Finely chop 600g of the tomatoes. Cut the remainder into wedges. 2.  Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Add garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Add onion, chil...