Lavender Shortbread
Lavender Shortbread with Homemade Lavender Sugar
How to Make Lavender Sugar
If you have English lavender growing in your garden and haven’t used any pesticides nearby then harvest it to make lavender sugar.
Ideally, pick the lavender on a hot sunny day, just before the flowers open. Tie the stalks together and leave to hang upside down for a few days until dry.
Break off the flower buds and add to castor sugar. Following the advice of Sarah Cook, you should combine 2 tsp of lavender flowers to 1kg of castor sugar.
Store in an airtight container
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have lavender growing in your garden, lavender sugar may be purchased from Yorkshire Lavender.
It is delicious in the following recipe.
Lavender shortbread
(inspired by Belvoir fruit farms recipe)
Ingredients
110g butter (at room temperature)
50g lavender sugar
175g plain flour
Lavender buds for decoration
Method
Cream together the butter and sugar,
Stir in the flour
Mix to a dough and roll out to approx 1/2 cm thick
Cut the shortbread into rounds using a cutter
Add lavender buds to decorate
Bake in a preheated oven 160 degrees C, gas mark 4, for approx 15 mins, until just turning golden.
My cutters are all rather big, so I used a sherry glass to make dainty biscuits.
If you’ve enjoyed this, you might also like Ms Glug Jug’s Banana Bread Recipe.
Banana Bread
Banana Bread
If you realise your bananas have gone brown and spotty here is an excellent recipe that needs them to be very ripe
Ingredients
200g self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
75g butter
150g castor sugar
2 eggs, beaten
450g (about 3 large) bananas
Method
Mush the overripe bananas in their own bowl
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl
Cream the butter and sugar together
Add the eggs a little at a time alternately with the flour
Stir in the remaining flour and the bananas
( chopped walnuts and or sultanas can be added at this point if you like)
Tip into a 2lb loaf tin, greased and lined with grease proof paper
Bake for 11/4 hours at 180 Degrees C, gas mark 4
Tip out, remove the paper
Cool on a wire rack
Serve cut into slices and spread with butter
Once cool wrap in foil and keep for 24 hours before eating for an extra flavoursome treat.
Carrot and Coriander Soup
Carrot and Coriander Soup
This is a delicious warming soup which is easy to make and reheat.
It makes a light lunch or enjoy it as a comforting snack when you get in from work, rather than heading for the biscuit tin!
If you use a vegetable stock then it is suitable for sharing with your veggie friends. Actually, I like to use Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon for any recipe that requires stock.
I use the following quantities for about four servings, but they are all approximate and rather depend on what is in the vegetable rack.
Ingredients
2 onions
6 carrots, washed and chopped
1 potato, washed and chopped
1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
Fresh coriander, finely chopped, but reserve 4 sprigs for garnish
1-litre vegetable stock
Method
Chop and fry the onions. Fry in a splash of olive oil and a knob of butter (if available) making sure they don’t burn.
Add ground coriander and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add carrots and potato and stir briefly.
Add stock, bring to the boil and cook for 20 mins until all the vegetables are soft.
Add the chopped fresh coriander for a couple of minutes.
Blend everything together, reheat if necessary.
To serve
Pour into bowls, add a swirl of cream if desired,
Add a sprig of coriander for decoration.
Delicious with hunks of fresh baguette!
Okra Rice
I first heard about Okra when one of my friends was talking to me about the Indian restaurant Bundobust . She was telling me that the Okra fries are delicious, and similar to courgette fries. Courgette fries are quite possibly my favourite thing in the world, so I wanted to give the okra fries a go.
This meant that I had a large bag of okra left, and it was taking up a lot of room in the freezer, so I started cooking it. It is actually incredibly easy to cook, you basically just have to fry it for about 10 mins (even from frozen).
So, I’ll just tell you a bit about Okra before I write down the recipe. Okra, otherwise known as ladies’ fingers or bhindi, has SO many health benefits. Apparently, it can lower cholesterol, improve digestion, improve vision, boost skin health, prevent certain cancers, strengthen bones, improve cardiovascular health, protect the immune system, lower blood pressure, and protect heart health! Sounds good to me!
Ingredients
- Packet of microwaveable rice (or you can cook your own rice)
- 1 big handful of chopped okra (mine was pre-chopped frozen from Asda).
- Coconut oil
- Quorn chicken pieces
- Soy sauce
Method
- Add coconut oil to a pan, then when it has heated up, add in the okra. (If the okra is icy from the freezer, it will melt and be watery, but its ok).
- Add the onion and Quorn chicken. Stir everything about and let it all cook for about 10 minutes. You can add more coconut oil if it starts to run out.
- Once it is almost done, add the rice to the pan, and stir it all in. (The rice will soak up any extra water from the okra’s melted ice).
- Add seasonings if you like, I used paprika, cayenne pepper and chilli powder, (I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to spices, but it tasted ok).
- Then its ready to go. I love it with soy sauce ?
And there you go! I kept the hob on 5 (6 being the highest) the whole time. This is a delicious and healthy dish, the amount this yields is enough for two people, or you can put half in your lunch box for the next day!
Spinach and Cottage Cheese Cannelloni
This recipe will last for a couple of mealtimes. You can pack it up to take to work, or enjoy it at home in the evening. You can make your own passata if you feel like it, but I find the Tesco Garlic & Herb Passata does the job just fine. This recipe is based on Slimming World’s Baked Cannelloni recipe.
Ingredients:
- 8 Cannelloni Tubes
- 225g Spinach, washed and trimmed
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 225g Natural Cottage Cheese (fat-free)
- 450ml Passata
- Sprinkling of Vegetarian Parmesan Style Cheese
- Salt & Pepper
- Basil leaves (or dried basil)
Method:
- If the spinach isn’t washed and trimmed.. wash it and trim it
- Place the spinach in a pan with a couple of table spoons of water for 3-5 minutes, then drain thoroughly
- When the spinach is in the sieve, press down on it to squeeze all the excess water out, then chop it up
- Put the egg yolk in a large bowl, then stir in the cheese and chopped spinach
- Stuff the cannelloni tubes with the mixture, then lay in a tray
- Pour the passata over the cannelloni then sprinkle some parmesan on top
- Cook in the oven on 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6 for about 25 minutes – you can check if it’s done by sticking a fork in.
Top Tips:
If you’re short on time, buy pre-washed, pre-trimmed spinach! If not, you’ll have to spend about ten minutes just sorting through it all.
In order to get the filling into the tubes, you can scoop it up on a knife and shovel it in that way.
It may seem like there is too much Passata, but the more the better. If there isn’t enough then the dish will dry out and burn in the oven, so just keep pouring it on so it is bathing in it.
If you’ve got a surplus of filling, just stir it in to the sauce. It doesn’t look as nice, but waste not want not!
Half way through cooking, you can stir the pasata about to make sure that there is still enough covering the cannelloni.
If you really don’t like cottage cheese, you could use a light cream cheese instead 🙂
Serve with a salad or a garlic bread, and enjoy.
Chinese Chips
It really is no secret that I love chips, especially the chips from the local Chinese takeaway. I set upon a mission to make my own healthier version, and here it is. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Frozen oven chips
- Pepper cut up into chunks
- Onion chopped finely
- Courgettes/ broccoli/ any other veg that you like
- Coconut oil
- Spices
Method:
- Place the frozen chips and veg into a large mixing bowl
- Scoop some coconut oil into a cup and microwave until melted
- Pour the coconut oil and spices over the chips & veg, and stir so all is coated.
- Cook according to the instructions on the chip packet (usually on 220°C for about 20 mins).
If you preheat the tray in the oven before pouring the chips & veg on then there is more chance of a really crispy finish.
Bircher Muesli
This is a versatile and tasty cupful of joy that can be enjoyed any time of the day.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp chopped apricot and raisins
- Sprinkling of blueberries and any other fruit you like
- 1 cup almond milk/ oat milk
Method:
- Add the oats and chia seeds and mix together
- Add the fresh & dried fruit followed by the milk
- Stir, shake and refrigerate
If you are enjoying this at home then a mason jar works well, but you could use tupperware or a travel mug if you are taking it to go.
Frozen berries work really well in this, especially if you are making it in the evening to eat the next day.