Summer Eating- Making More of Fruit & Ideas

One of the things I love most about summer is the food.  A bountiful supply of fresh fruit and veg are so tempting, al fresco dining and homegrown (by Dad) produce are just some of the highlights. July has been positively scorching and it is the best summer we've had in this country for years and years.  With the warm weather, it brings a more continental type appetite, I find.  Personally much more in the mood for light meals, salads and there is a definite increase in the consumption of a variety of fresh fruit.

-Make Fruit The Star: Some Random Ideas-

National Vegetarian Week and 2 Seasonal Tea Recipes



Spring Onion, Watercress, Radish, Samphire, Asparagus, Chicory, Jersey Royal Potatoes,  Broccoli and Apricots.  Those are just a small selection of the fruit and veg in season.  There is a plentiful supply of delicious, fresh ingredients in shops to cook with and also inspire.  Being in season means that you get produce at its very best and it tends to be kinder on the pocket.  Many of the supermarkets, as it is National Vegetarian Week are doing special offers on veg friendly food- brands such as Linda McCartney, Innocent and Qurorn.  These are well worth looking out for.

 

Chocolate Mini Egg Review

There is quite a range of mini eggs available and sold in the UK's shops.  They are a real favourite of mine.  The type of eggs I will be reviewing in this blog are chocolate ones in a crisp sugar shell.  I thought that I would share my thoughts on the eggs that I've tried over the years.  All of these are widely available.

  I would be interested to hear from anyone regarding their own favourites, special Easter plans or any varieties local to you or that you may have come across.  Happy Easter in advance and may it be sweet!



Cadbury Mini Eggs

The classic mini egg.  The Cadbury version are the original and for many the best.  I must admit that I am very partial.  These eggs are the perfect size with a perfect coating, not too thick or thin.  The interior is Cadbury chocolate and for some reason to me it is the taste of easter (that type of choc).  Perhaps it is due to it being the commonmost Easter egg choc.  The yellow eggs have a slightly different taste to the others, which is very nice.  You can buy them in a single serve packet in the form of a small cardboard box, the size pictured-100g in size and are available in a larger 360g pack.  I also remember them being sold in tubes but haven't seen any this year.  They are often on offer at £1 for a 100g bag which is very good, Morrisons have an offer of 2 for £2 at the moment.

Homemade Pitta Bread and Cauli Falafel

A Little Bit Busy In The Kitchen....

Was delighted to get the afternoon off work.  Decided that I'd take advantage of the time and get down to some cooking and baking (of the bread variety).  Pitta breads have always been a staple on my shopping list, handy for a quick lunch and my favourite thing to dip into a mug of soup.  How hard could they be to make?  Along with having a go at ptita's, I also made a variety of different salads- a cous-cous with roasted pepper, a raw cauliflower, lemon and dill as well as a grated carrot and lime salad (Summer Salad Recipes).  Made fairly decent sized batches of each to have alongside leaves, pita/baked tatty for easy meals over the next few days.  As there was a bit of a Middle Eastern theme developing,g also made a small batch of mini cauliflower and pink peppercorn falafels.  With cauliflower on offer at Lidl it is a veg I really enjoy but rarely buy.  Most often have it in a curry or raw but it is about time I thought outside of the box!  As well as the recipes today; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has a recipe for a cauliflower snack that I suppose eats as a kind of crisp- intrigued to try those out (Hugh's Cauliflower Recipe Ideas). 

As there was a 100g bar of white chocolate in the back of the cupboard, leftover from the chocolate barks I made at Christmas.  With this I had a go at  making some white chocolate peanut butter cups.  Melting the choc, mixed up the peanut butter with some vanilla in separate bowl and used paper cake cases.  Encased the whipped peanut butter in chocolate by spooning the choc into the cups distributing thinly and added a spoon of peanut butter then sealed with more choc.  Allowed these to set in fridge.  Provided pictures but are poor quality as they were taken via laptops webcam. 

Summer Salad Recipes

The weather has been anything but summery, however it feels good to be healthy.  Here is hoping that the rest of July onwards delivers a-lot more in terms of weather!

1- Thai Inspired Carrot and Peanut Salad

Had this as a side dish at a beautiful Thai restaurant in Perth called Roca Blu.  Liked it so much I've attempted to re-create it.  Adaptable to suit tastes and what you have available, it is also nice to have as a side dish with curry, a sandwich/wrap filler.  A lovely place to eat, chilled out atmosphere and decor- there are pots of herbs growing around the place that smell beautiful.  They also offer cocktail classes.