Happy September…looking forward, and back

I’ve taken a few months off writing my recipes down (maybe even more than a few months), this is because it was getting a little time consuming typing them out every day as I was only using my phone… and I am definitely not one of those people who relishes the idea of staring at my phone for hours like a zombie! So I stopped, I went outside and got running, and changed my lifestle. I used this 5km training plan to help me go from sitting on my couch to running like the wind.

And it really works, I stuck to it for the full 6 weeks and never missed a day so by the end I was not only feeling fit and healthy but also full of confidence to keep running. Once I had finished the training plan I was at first running 5km four times a week, but I have now reduced that to three times a week as I believe fitting in other types of exercise is important too- I’m particularly keen on working on my core, and upper body strength.

So whats been happening over the past few months? Well a lot! We went to Berlin and had a wonderfully romantic long weekend, although it was unseasonably chilly I rather fell in love with the beautiful city. I have also had a couple of lovely trips home to see my family and our dog Walter- these have involved day trips to North Wales, a trip to Formy beach and long deliciously sunny walks around Tatton Park with my mother. We had a couple of trips to Devon to visit my other halves wonderful family- who treated us both to an Antler Wheeley Cabin Sized Suitcase each (which I love and I am over the moon about!!!) for all the weekend trips we go on. Our tickets to the much anticipated Rugby World Cup arrived, we also watched the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London- such a treat and a wonderful birthday present! This summer has been full of joy including trips to Bristol to catch up with an old friend and generally enjoying life.

There is plenty more to look forward to though. Autumn/ Winter 2015 has been much anticipated- there is just so much to look forward to I might burst! We have tickets to the Rugby World Cup, I myself am only going to one game (they’re pricey don’t you know!), but my rugby fan boyfriend managed to get his hands on tickets to 6 games! Lucky thing! We are also going to watch the Chiefs vs Lions NFL game at Wembley. SO EXCITED!

Autumn is always a special time of year in my eyes, as it will be our 5 year anniversary on the 13th October, and boyf’s birthday in November. I love to spoil him.

Then…..

SOUTH AFRICA! Flights booked and paid for, Kruger Park booked- two and half relaxing weeks in such a naturally stunning country is just what we need. First we will be going to his families home by the Molopo Oog where there is no TV, Internet or phones to be used- just swimming, relaxing, reading laughter and food. I can not wait. Then Christmas in Jo’burg and off to the Kruger Park we go.

Whilst all this is happening in Autumn/Winter I will be attempting to finally pass my driving test and generally enjoying life to the full- and cooking as many delicious meals as possible. I intend to post my approx 3 recipes a week.

So, here’s to the coming months, and looking back on warm memories of summer whilst the weather turns cooler and the nights get darker.

Here’s to cooking food that feeds the soul and keeps us healthy.

Here’s to spending time with the people we love, making them feel special and welcoming new people into our lives.

Happy September!

-J-

This Weeks Menu w/c 30th March

I feel as though I’m getting stuck in a food rut. This is just no good! Endless pasta, gnocchi and rice dishes are clogging up my food menus, and this weeks no different due to the stresses and strains of busy London life. Or maybe this is just normal adult life, quick meals during the week? Wahh.

This weekend is a longggg weekend and I have the day after off as well for extra relaxation (even though I only got back from skiing a week ago…). Have a great one!!

I’ll be consulting my sisters cook books this weekend when I go home for an Easter break, and you never know maybe perusing new books will help spark my imagination.

Menu

Monday

Mushroom Florentine Pasta

Tuesday

Tomato and Basil Gnocchi

Wednesday

Cajun Beef Burgers

Thursday

Away

Friday

Away

Saturday

Away

Sunday

Away

Have a wonderful Easter or just enjoy your long weekend if you’re not celebrating!

Hot and Spicy Jamaican Beef Balls

Another week at work is done! Kick back and relaxxxx with these spicy Jamaican beef balls this weekend, they’re easy to make and packed with flavour- what more could you ask for?

  

 Ingredients 

 
for the beef balls 

 500g good quality beef mince 

1 egg 

1/2cup breadcrumbs 

1 garlic clove crushed 

1 tbsp bbq sauce 

2 tbsp tomato ketchup
salt and pepper 

1 medium white onion grated 

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, coriander 

1/4 tsp allspice 

 
for the gravy/sauce 

 1 medium white onion finely sliced 

1 orange bell pepper sliced 

2 cups hot water 

1 chicken stock cube

1 red chilli finely chopped 

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp concentrated tomato puree 

1 garlic clove 

1/4 tsp allspice, paprika and coriander 

finely chopped flat leaf parsley

  

 

Method 

 
for the beef balls

1. In a large mixing bowl mix together all the beef balls ingredients and round into 12 meat balls.
2. In a large frying pan, heat 2 tsp oil and brown the meat balls, then transfer them to a casserole dish, and bake in a hot oven (preheated to 220 degrees c) for 15-20 mins until cooked all the way through.
3. Whilst the beef balls are baking….make the gravy!

for the gravy/sauce

1. In the same frying pan that the meatballs were cooked in- heat some more oil if needs be, then fry off the onions, garlic and chilli. Next step is to add the sliced pepper, and continue to cook together until they begin to soften like the onions.
2. After approx 5 mins, add the water, stock cube, ketchup and puree along with the spices (not the parsley). Season nicely! bring to the boil, then leave to simmer until it becomes a thick tasty sauce- if its looking dry simply stir in a bit more water!
3. Once the sauce has thickened the beef balls should be cooked so add them to the sauce, sprinkle over the parsley and stir so everything is nicely coated in the sauce.
4. Serve over rice.

  

Have a cracker of a weekend!

 JSP

Aubergine and Chorizo Pasta Bake

Pasta bakes are probably the ultimate comfort food, and this version makes it feel just a little bit healthier and grown up!

  

Ingredients

1/2 an aubergine cubed

1 red pepper sliced

50g mushrooms sliced

75g pancetta

100g chorizo sliced

1 large red onion finely chopped

1 tin of tomatoes

 1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp of – smoked paprika, mixed herbs, oregano and thyme

1 chicken stock cube

Handful fresh baby spinach

Small handful of finely chopped parsley and handful torn basil leaves

Enough dried pasta for two

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan, and cook the pancetta until it starts to become crispy, then add in the chorizo and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Once the chorizo has crisped up, and the onion cooking until softened. Add in the pepper, mushroom and aubergine and cook for approx 5 mins. 

2. Preheat the oven to 220degrees c, and cook the pasta according to pack instructions in boiling salty water. 

3. The chorizo and vegetables stir in the tomatoes, puree and water. Next add the dried herbs (mixed, paprika, oregano and thyme) and the stock cube and season well. Stir the sauce bringing it to a boil, then reduce the heat so its just a simmer put the lid on and leave for around 20 minutes to reduce. After the sauce has reduced stir in the fresh herbs (basil and parsley) and wilt the spinach into the sauce. 

4. Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce. Stir well and then pour into a rectangular baking dish with the spinkled cheese on top, bake in the oven for 25 mins or until the cheese is nice and golden. 

   

 Hope you enjoy!

JSP

Pork Schnitzel

Schnitzel schnitzel schnitzel oh what a glorious day for a schnitzel! Pork chops that are breadcrumbed and beautiful, what more could you ask for?! 

My boyfriend had a veal schnitzel whilst we were in Italy, and I thought they looked pretty easy to make so I gave it a go!

  

Ingredients

2 good sized pork chops

1/2 cup plain flour

1 egg beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs or normal breadcrumbs (panko are good for extra crispy schnitzels)

Sunflower oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Remove the bone and the fat from the pork chops. Season them well on both sides with salt and pepper. Put a layer of clingfilm over the top of the chops and tenderise them with a rolling pin- they will be about 1/2 cm thick after this. 

2. Put the egg and the flour in two seperate bowls, and the breadcrumbs on a small plate. Dip the pork first in the flour (making sure its completely covered), then the egg and the breadcrumbs. 

3. Meanwhile heat a good glug of oil in the flat based frying pan (you will need enough oil for the pork chops to almost swim- about 1/2 cm deep). Once the oil is hot slowly lay the breaded pork in and fry for 4-5 mins on both sides. Once they’re cooked lay on kitchen towel to get rid of any excess oil. 

Delicioussss! Enjoy! Serve with chips or mash and lots of greens. 

 

Enjoy!

JSP 

This weeks menu w/c 23rd March

I’m back from my holidays and ready to start posting again!! One thing I learnt whilst away is that skiing is a lot harder than it looks, and being graceful is impossible for a beginner! My legs are hurting, and I feel like I need to be a more positive person in the future but I had a wonderful holiday with great people and delicious food (was feeling very glad I did all that exercise!)

Menu

Monday

Chorizo Pasta Bake

Tuesday

Pork schnitzel 

Wednesday

Lasagne

Thursday

Thai green curry

Friday

Spaghetti alla amatriciana 

Saturday

Stilton and sausage risotto

Sunday

Jambalya 

Not exactly the most challenging of weeks, but I’m anticipating being quite tired going back to work and getting back into the real world! 

Here are a couple of pictures from Italy!

   

   

Have a great week!

JSP

Simply Delicious Penne all’Arribbiata

On days where I don’t want to eat meat, I often want to eat something jam packed full of flavour and spice. And this certainly packs a punch (in a very good way, don’t worry!).



Ingredients

1 finely chopped red onion

2 Red Chillis sliced whole with seeds in (you can deseed them if you want)

Sprinkle of Chilli flakes

1/2 tsp dried herbs

1/4 tsp oregano and 1/4 tsp thyme

1 can tinned tomatoes

approx. 10 halved cherry tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp. tomato puree

1 crushed garlic clove

1/4 cup water

finely chopped fresh parsley

torn basil leaves to serve

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp caster sugar

enough penne for two!

Method

1. In one tsp of olive oil fry the onion until softened, then add the garlic and chili (fresh and dried) and cook for a further couple of minutes without burning the garlic.
2. Next step is to add the tomatoes both tinned and cherry, and bring to a boil along with the water, puree, stock cube and dried herbs, then season and reduce to a simmer for approx. 20 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens. sprinkle the caster sugar to remove some of the acidity of the tomatoes.
3. Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salty water according to pack instructions.
4. Once the sauce is ready, stir in the fresh basil and cooked pasta. Serve with some torn basil leaves over the top!

A delicious vegetarian dish straight to your plate in under half an hour! What a delight. I also added mushrooms just because I had some spare. 



JSP

Red Hot Ragu Pasta

I’ve made a lot of different pasta sauces, and I haven’t tried doing something like this with sausage meat before, this is a Mary Berry recipe and all I can say is she’s a wonderful woman!!



Ingredients

6 good quality sausages

1 chilli sliced

1 finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

100g chopped mushrooms

100g cherry tomatoes halves

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 cup water

1 chicken stock cube

1/2 tsp – dried herbs, oregano and thyme

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Handful chopped parsley 

Handful baby spinach

Method

1. Heat a tsp oil in a deep sauce pan. Deskin the sausages by making a slit in them and peeling off the skin, put them all in the frying pan and break them up using a wonden spoon until and brown nicely. It will end up looking like minced pork. Whilst the sausages are browning add in the onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until softened. Add in the chilli and the chilli flakes, stir and cook for a few more minutes. 
2. Once the meat has browned add the dried herbs, oregano, thyme and papika. Give it a stir andnthen pour in the tinned tomatoes, water and puree. Crumble in the stock cube. Bring to a boil and simmer. Season well. 
3. After 10 mins add in the cherry tomatoes, continue to simmer for half an hour. Then add the parsley and spinach, stir until the spinach has wilted. 
4. Meanwhile, cook any pasta of your choice in salty water according to pack instructions. Once everything is cooked add the pasta to the sauce stir and serve!



I honestly loved this sauce, and was very pleased I’d made enough for lunch the next day. Delicious!

JSP

This weeks menu w/c 9th March

The sunshine from the weekend promptly disappeared ready for Monday…seems for once the weather finally got it right to be nice during the weekend and be miserable during the week!

Food this week is simple and fairly quick, lots of things to do pre-holiday, the my boyfriend is back to studying in the evenings after a full days work!

Menu

Monday

Red Hot Ragu

Tuesday

Spinach and Feta Pie

Wednesday

Homemade Beef Burgers

Thursday

Tomato and Basil Gnocchi

Friday

Holiday

Saturday

Holiday

Sunday

Holiday

There won’t be a menu post for the week commencing 16th March as we will be skiing down the slopes of the dolomites and eating lots of pasta and pizza! But before I go I’m going to try and catch up with all the posts I’ve missed recently.

Have a wonderful week!

JSP

Spring time Gnocchi

Is there beautiful sunshine where you are? London has been blessed with blue skies and bright sunshine, my vitamin D levels feel the highest they’ve been in months!



Ingredients

1 finely chopped red onion

Approx 15 halved cherry tomatoes

1 crushed garlic clove

1 heaped tbsp tomato puree

5 sliced sundried tomotoes

Handful baby spinach

Approx 6 basil leaves torn

1/4 cup water

1 tsp sugar

Handful finely chopped parsley

1 pack gnocchi

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp mixed dry herbs

20g crumbled feta to serve

Method

1. In 1 tsp chilli oil or extra virgin olive oil soften the onion for 6 mins, then add the garlic and chilli flakes. Add in the cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes and cook until the cherry tomatoes are softened. Stir in the tomato puree, sugar, mixed herbs and water. Season and leave to simmer for about 10 mins. 
2. Cook the gnocchi according to pack instructions in boiling water – this only takes a couple of minutea, if you over cook you’ll just get mush. 
3. Stir the cooked gnocchi into the sauce along with the spinacn, basil and parsley- stir until the spinach is wilted and all the gnocchi is all coated in the sauce. 
4. Serve with the crumbled feta on top. 



Enjoy!

JSP