Cheddar and Spinach Puff Pastry Twists

These are extremely easy to make and very tasty. They will also freeze well, though I doubt they will last that long! This recipe makes 10 quite large twists; you could easily halve the size and make 20 medium sized twists.

Olive and Pistachio Pesto

A rather unusual alternative to basil pesto, this uses more specialist ingredients than I usually go in for but looked so interesting I couldn't resist trying it out. It was delicious. If you can't get hold of green peppercorns, I'm sure black would be fine. Be careful to use unsalted pistachios or this would be far too salty. The recipe I used called for parmesan but since I am a strict vegetarian, I substituted for strong cheddar. However, feel free to use parmesan (or a vegetarian equivalent if you can find it) instead. The recipe I used actually called for double the quantities here and it made a lot of pesto so I've halved it to a more manageable amount. I kept mine in the fridge for a couple of weeks and it was fine. 

Sweet Potato Peanut Stew

This warm and comforting stew is perfect for dark, cold autumn evenings. Adding peanut (or any other nut) butter to stew really enriches it and gives it a lovely thick consistency. You can vary the vegetables according to what you prefer or what's in season and you can eat this as it is or serve with bread if you like.

Spinach and Feta Muffins

I have been experimenting with savoury snacks recently in quest to find home made food which is easy to feed my daughter on the go. I experimented with a few different muffin recipes to little success before making these, which are a lovely consistency and very tasty. I lowered the salt content for my daughter so you might want to up it slightly, though the feta will add some saltiness to them. 

 

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Autumn is here and that means one thing in my house: soup is back on the menu! We've had a cold snap here in the UK this week and this soup was perfect over the weekend to add a bit of warmth into the house. For extra heat, you could add fresh or dried chilli peppers, though I omitted them because I was giving this to my 11 month old daughter, who absolutely loved it. 

Olive and Basil Feta Cheese Spread

A lovely and quick dip/sandwich filling which is super easy to make. The original recipe was double the quantity but I halved it. If you are using as a dip for a gathering, you could double the quantities below. The original recipe called for Kalamata olives but I used black olives because I am cheap, so just use any colour olive you prefer.

Creamy Potato, Leek and Mushroom Bake

This recipe comes from an old Linda McCartney recipe book I picked up somewhere which I've modified slightly. It's basically a potato gratin with added layers of leeks and herbed mushrooms, and a cheesy breadcrumb topping. The recipe serves 2 as a main course, so if serving more, scale up accordingly. It doesn't keep particularly well so needs to be eaten up on the day it's cooked. Make sure you slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, as otherwise it will take hours to cook. I sliced mine using a box grater, and even then it took an hour an a half.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g mushrooms, sliced
3 tsp dried mixed herbs - I used thyme, marjoram and parsley
400g potatoes, thinly sliced (I used a box grater)
400g leeks, sliced
nutmeg, to taste
200 ml double cream
60 ml milk
2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)
100g bread
50g flavoured cheese (I used a mix of hard goats cheese and marture cheddar)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F/Gas Mark 5

1. Saute garlic in oil/butter in a pan for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and half the dried herbs (1 and 1/2 tsp) and fry for 5-10 minutes until softened.

2. Arrange layers of vegetables as follows:

Using half the potatoes, add a layer of potato on the bottom of a baking dish, dotting with 1 tbsp cream cheese (if using), and a sprinkling of herbs.

Using half the leeks, add a layer of leeks and sprinkle sparingly with nutmeg.

Add the mushrooms and cooking juices on top.

Using the remaining leeks, add another layer of leeks, herbs, nutmeg, and dot with 1 tbsp cream cheese.

Finish off with a layer of potato on top.

3. In a jug, combine cream and milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour over the potato, leek and mushroom layers.

4. Blend bread into breadcrumbs. Grate cheese into breadcrumbs, add garlic powder and stir to mix. Cover the top of the potato bake with breadcrumbs.

5. Bake, covered with foil, for an hour. Remove foil and bake for another half an hour or until potatoes are soft.