wild rosemary

My days of buying rosemary are long gone...a five minute walk to the mountain...

roast artichokes with lemon dip

This is one of the simplest and most delicious ways of eating artichokes.Roasting enhances the flavour and the bottom of the artichoke becomes wonderfully caramely and crunchy..

First remove extra leaves on the stalks.
Cut the very tip of the stalk.
Cook artichokes in boiling water untill you can sink a fork between the base and the stalk.
Remove and drain of water.
Cut off stalks.
Place artichokes bottom side down with stalks alongside(they are so yummy)on a oiled(olive)baking tray with a chunk of lemon tucked into the top and a few garlics( with skin on) thrown around artistically.Awee bit of coarsely ground sea salt and pop into a hot oven..200c untill the bottoms are well brown (see photo above)
Take out the garlic when soft,this might be earlier than the artichokes or not.

Beat lemon juice and olive oil with a wee bit of salt and pepper.(and roast garlic if wished)

Gingerly stare off leaves, dip in the lemon mixture and thank the universe for artichoke season and their existense..

sweet and spicey fonio cake

Fonio is a type of millet from West Africa.It has all the 8 amino acids,is high in B vitamins ,calcium,iron,folic acid,zinc,magnesium and potassium...It is one of those superfoods that I,m going to harp on about quite a bit....
This cake was deliciously moist with relatively low sugar due to the carrot and apples and its vegan and its healthy...yeah!

preheat oven 180c ...

307g wholewheat flour
27g soya flour
60g maize flour(semolina)
1og dessicated coconut
87g raisins
20g baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
100g sugar
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/8 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
1/32 teaspoon of love

mix the dried ingredients above together then add..

270g cooked fonio or millet(cold)
80g grated carrot
130g grated apple
300ml sunflower oil
150ml soya milk
200ml water
1 dessertspoon plum(or other) jam
rind of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients together,beat well and fill a rectangular baking tray(10x15 inches) or two 8 inch cake trays.Bake for 25 minutes or until you pinch it with a skewer and it comes out clean.

Aubergines stuffed with quinoa,smoked tofu and black beans.

This was one of those quicky dinners turned good...
For two...
Cut two aubergines in half ,place on a baking tray with a dizzle of olive oil and whack them into a hot oven(250c),turning occasionly until soft and browned underneath...
Meanwhile defrost tomate sauce(see January blog)and a hand full of frozen black beans(or fresh or other cooked beans)and let them simmer in a saucepan.
I added a wee bit of dried tarragon because I,m growing it this year and need to start playing with it, as I know little or nowt about this herb. The only way to get to know a herb is by experimenting and tasting.

In a frying pan I fried some diced smoked tofu until crispy.At the end I put a splash of soya sauce,put a lid on it for spatter relief and let it cook for a minute more.(this soya smoked tofu is great for pizzas rissottos et al)

In another saucepan I cooked some quinoa.Wash it well first then boil in ample water until soft.I saved some for my wee baby(9 months old on the 3rd)as its high in protein,calcium and iron.
Mix the tomatoe beany mixture with the tofu,
quinoa,some chopped parsley, fried garlic and a splinkering of smoked paprika.

When the aubergines are done...scoop out a small bit of the flesh...mix with lemon juice(a squeeze),crushed garlic(to taste),coriander powder(a pinch), tahini(as you wish) ,olive oil,water, salt and pepper.This is the sauce done.hurragh!

Spoon the quinoa tomatoe mixture into the aubergines and serve with the above sauce.ummm
We ate these with a simple mixed leaf salad with balsamic vinegar,olive oil salt and pepper...also ummmm

village window

This why I love living here.Theres a sense of timelessness...I,ll throw in a few photos every now and then of Catalunya and village life....maybe a collection of doors and windows..

tortilla de spagetti or spagetti omlette filled with tapenade,borlotti bean stew and parmesan

One of my favourite things to do is make something delicious out of nothing...or leftovers.Leftovers always form part of the following days food.The word" leftovers" does not sound appetizing but I think every cookery book should have a section for leftovers and what to do with them....so in honour of that great word I give you the spagetti omlette......

step one.. remove cooked spaggetti from the fridge
other steps...heat frying pan -throw in a splash of olive oil-then spaggetti(roughly a plateful)for a few seconds..
throw in 2 beaten eggs (with a splash of milk and salt and pepper)...
lower heat,flip over when cooked underneath and brown otherside..

There you have it.

I filled mine with homemade tapenade ,a borlotti bean stew (also leftover) and a wee bit of grated parmesan

chocolate vegan cheesecake with grape syrup and strawberries