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The Sun Has Arrived

I made some gorgeous spicy bean burgers last night, from a Rose Elliott cookbook. They were really tasty! We ate them with salad and crusty bread.

Unfortunately I had a senior moment and forgot to take a photo! This has never happened to me once since I started blogging!

Should I be worried?


I decided to tell you about my great day out in the sun instead!

It was such a beautiful morning that we decided to head out, down the cycle route on our bikes. Through villages, and woods, past fields and churches, we will just bypass the part where the route cut down the side of a dual carriage way!

We sat on a hilltop overlooking the Silvery Tay (the river not the chip shop!) and ate lunch! We had sandwiches filled with falafel, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes and salad. I spread the bread with some of Lisa's Vegetarian Caesar Salad Dressing and drizzled a little sweet chilli sauce over the falafel, it was yummy!


















This sandwich was so good, that I was inspired to add a sandwich survey to my blog!

The falafel sandwich is in the lead, as I write this post, with Peanut Butter and Jam in second place! It will be interesting to see how it progresses!

Let me know if you have a favourite sandwich filler?
It is always good to have new ideas!

On a different note, a big thank you to Val at More Than Burnt Toast for my Droolworthy Award!

Stick to the Day Job!

Charlotte over at The Great Big Vegetable Challenge, emailed me to ask me if I wanted to join in some fun!

Charlotte and her children had hours of fun making vegetable faces, one rainy day and now she is challenging the rest of us to have a go!


Hope he counts! Technically he is a Salad Face.

I really do think I should stick to the day job!

You can view the other faces here.

Waiter there's something in my ......

Recently I came across a blog called Cook Sister.

Cook Sister is hosting an event called Waiter, there's something in my... and the topic for this month is meatless barbecue, so I just had to contribute!

Out came the barbeque, which has been in hibernation for about 4 months, because it has rained so much here!

My entry is:

Barbequed Bananas with Demerara Sugar and Whipped Cream.


A veritable feast of a dessert! You just put the bananas onto the barbeque, skins on and leave them until they go black and start to split. This can also be achieved in the microwave (if you live in Scotland). Just open them up and use the skin to hold your dessert. Sprinkle with brown sugar, which turns into toffee sludge as it melts and serve with cream. You can add some rum to it if you like, my dad likes rum in his!

Tonight we started with Vegetarian Caesar Salad from Lisa's Kitchen, We followed this with veggie sausages on finger rolls with mustard and relish. Graham basted the sausages with Jerked Honey Rum Glaze. Yes! Graham Cooked! A spot of manly firing up the barbeque and char grilling some food and very tasty it was too!

Thanks for the glaze recipe Ruth!























 





























You have to grasp Summer, however briefly it appears!

I Could Walk 500 Miles....

So the Proclaimers said in their song!

I just hope they spaced it over a month and had good walking shoes and a cagoule!

Yesterday, myself and about 20 colleagues from work, walked from Broughty Ferry to Arbroath, approximately 17 miles/28 kilometers. We were walking in aid of Altzeimers Scotland, a very worthy cause!

The day went really well, we only had light drizzle, it was bucketing down the day before! We walked along a cycle route, across a beach, scrambled up sand dunes and walked through fields. I will not tell you about our unexpected rush along a railway track, all because we couldn't cross some water! It was very dangerous and stupid! However we survived, with wet feet and sore legs!

Here are some photos from our day:
















The motley crew setting off!















A nice spot of weaving!















The cycle paths were quite busy with people walking their dogs and cycling, but the beach was very quiet. This man, with his boat, was one of the only people we did see.















This sign freaked us out a little! We were walking along beside MOD land, the red flags were flying and we could hear the popping of guns. A bit too close for comfort! Guns firing to one side of our path and golf balls flying at the other! Streuth! I am glad the path was clearly marked, although it was a bit like a bog at times!















This sign was welcome, as it meant we only had a couple of hours walking to go!

We stumbled into Ida's fine house and collapsed in her living room! We inadvertently left 2 of our party trawling through the streets of Arbroath lost. Whoops!

We were warmly welcomed by Carol, who presented us with a glass of wine! She had been slaving away all afternoon in the kitchen for us. We had burgers and sausages
(veggie for some) barbequed, on rolls, pasta salad, mixed salad, cherry tomatoes, coleslaw and piece de resistence, roasted vegetables, yum!

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me!

Spicy Orange Soup

(the colour not the fruit)

I was looking around the supermarket shelves, when I spotted a basket of butternut squash! I instantly thought of soup and so here is my butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot soup.

I was feeling very zen after my yoga class, so I added my Buddha to the photo!

























1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 pints vegetable stock
1 medium butternut squash, cut into chunks
1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
4 large carrots, sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the onion, garlic and ginger in the olive oil until softened and then add the spices. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the carrots, squash and potato. Cover with stock and boil until the vegetables are tender.

Whizz the soup for a creamy finish.

Top with a dollop of yogurt.

Doesn't that squash look glorious! Such a gorgeous colour!

I put way too much chili powder in our soup! So we had to add the yogurt! I think 1/2 a teaspoon is about right! I used at least double that! Graham loved it and had to go back for more! He loved the chili blast! It didn't linger though. It was pow and then gone! I don't know if this is because I used chili powder instead of fresh chillies! I shall have to ask my friend Lisa, she is bound to know, she knows more about chillies than you can shake a stick at!

Chickpea Curry

This is the curry I so enjoyed at my Yoga Night Out, a few posts back! The recipe is curtesy of fellow yogite Craig. It is absolutely amazing! So full of flavour.

Craig's Chickpea Curry

2 medium onions
1.5 cm cube of ginger (peeled)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 large red chili (roughly chopped)
2 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can of chickpeas
3 tomatoes from a tin (chopped)
1/2 tsp. brown sugar (optional)
pinch of salt
3 tbsp. sunflower oil
1/2 lemon
3 tbsp. coriander leaves (chopped)
black pepper to taste


1. Peel the onions, cut in half and then slice.
2. Heat a small pan and dry roast the coriander seeds.
3. Roughly crush in a mortar and pestle.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the cumin seeds taking care not to burn them.
5. Heat a large heavy bottomed pan on a medium - high setting and add the oil.
6. When the oil is hot add all the spices and allow to sizzle for 1 min.
7. Add the onions and fry for 1 -2 mins while stirring occasionally so they don't stick.
8. Turn down the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 -15 mins. Sprinkle on the sugar if desired.
9. Thinly slice the ginger and then cut the slices into quarters. .Then add to the onions with the chili and garlic. Cook for a further 2 mins then turn the heat up to medium-high again.
10. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 mins before adding the chopped tomatoes.
11. Add a splash or two of water to loosen off the mix. It should not be too dry.
12. Turn down the heat a bit and simmer for 10 mins. You can mash a bit of the chickpeas up with a spoon as the mushed chickpeas give a creamy texture to the curry.
13. Add the lemon juice and chopped coriander. Simmer for 1 min.
14. Serve it up with a naan bread.

My curry was a little different in taste and colour from Craig's, because I just couldn't bear to leave those last 2 tomatoes in the can! I am not always good at following recipes, I tend to throw more of something or other in!

It was really, really good! We had it with rice and I followed Craig's example and served it with quartered flour tortillas. It was a very good idea, they were so much lighter than naan bread and I wasn't too worried about the calories! Naan bread, calories, need I say more!

Gold star to Craig!

Lemon, Courgette and Mascarpone Tripoline

I have been thinking about this flavour combination for a while now.

I was just sure it would be great!

Lemon and Courgette Tripoline

1 courgette (zucchini), cut into batons
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
3 tbsp mascarpone
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp parmesan, freshly grated
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Fry the courgette and garlic in olive oil, pour in 3 tbsp lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove a third of the courgette to top the dish with.
Mix the mascarpone with the remaining lemon juice and parmesan. Stir through the pasta adding the courgettes.

Season to taste.

Serve topped with the remaining courgette batons.

It was good. I loved the lemon kick! But it did need some black pepper and parmesan to even out the flavour.

This wasn't Graham's favourite dish. He is never sure of anything new. So I will eat it this way if I am on my own and maybe tweak it for Graham by adding some chilli, extra parmesan and less lemon juice.








I had some mascarpone left, so I mixed it with sugar and lemon juice and served it with strawberries. Now this got 10 out of 10 and a is there any more, please!

Yoga and Being Greedy!

No, the two are not connected!

We had a monthly night out after yoga and way too much yummy food was consumed!












That is me doing yoga!

I wish!

Well maybe it's not me, but I did go to yoga after work and it was great! A very good workout and a feeling of calm, gradually filling me up! We have a great teacher and she only tries to kill us occasionally!

Once a month, we go out after yoga for a meal. We have had a few disasters, with bad meals, but last night we went to Adam's house and had a wonderful time!















We all took a dish along, most of them were vegetarian dishes (I have very considerate friends!). My favourite dish was a chickpea curry, which was bursting with flavours! Craig brought this dish, he is a great cook and I always enjoy his offerings! He actually started a blog and this curry was the very first dish! Unfortunately, he found he didn't have the time to keep it up, but I would heartily recommend trying it!

I took along a simple pasta salad with pea pesto, feta and cashew nuts. I was home too late the night before to make anything more time-consuming, fortunately the pea pesto only takes minutes to make and is lovely!
















I ate way too much! But it was all so tasty and I had worked up a hunger with my yoga class!

We started off drinking Pimms, lethally fruity! And moved on to the wine. Well actually I spied a nearly empty bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, I swiped it quick! It is my favourite white. I was recommended it by Wine Deb and can't find anything else to beat it! Unfortunately, it is a little pricey, but I treat myself now and again.

It was a cool evening, but Adam had patio heaters, so we were able to stay outside all night and enjoy his garden! I declined getting into the hot tub, but it did look great, all the steam rising in the cold night air! I am such a wuss! Maybe next time!

















Anyway a good time was had by all! Even the dogs, who found it very exciting having company around!

Roll on next month and another night out!

Weird Wine Bottle No.2

I seem to have a knack for picking up weird looking bottles of wine! At least it was intentional this time!

I have been drinking J P Chenet Cinsault Grenache Rose for years and didn't even notice that it had a squinty neck until I took a photo of it for my blog!

This time I was attracted to a seriously strange shaped bottle of Bulgarian wine, a 2004 Blueridge Cabernet Sauvignon. I can only think that the company is trying to emulate the blue ridge mountains that lie directly behind the winery!

It was very enjoyable! It is matured in oak barrels and is described as tasting of blackberry and vanilla! Well I can go with that!

Disclosure: I was not sent this wine to review, I bought it myself.