Pa’s Home Baked Gluten Free Biscuits - Blueberry Hearts, truly delicious

   Some very munchy  cookies for you today and gluten free as well
    With all the wholesome goodness I have been cooking and eating lately I really felt the need for just some tasty biscuits to go with my cup of tea and these fit the bill just right. Working with gluten free flour again and that means you really have to pack flavour in.
    So that is what I have done and now I share my step by step recipe with you. It is very simple so please join me

Pa’s Easy Ginger Chickpeas with Salad of the Week 1

    Hi and welcome back.

    Today I have got a quick and simple spicy chickpea dish for you, coupled with my salad of the week
    This is the salad riposte to those who complain that salad is bland and boring With only 4 ingredients this salad bites back.
    My little chickpea treat can be served warm or cold so both are ideal if you need to prepare in advance.
    Tasty and simple.
             That is the way I like my food and I hope you do too.

Pa’s Pae-otto Rice with Leaf Salad

Hi welcome to my easy rice recipe. I call it pae-otto  because I cook it like a paella or risotto, though I use a wholegrain brown rice and flavourings of my choice.    
       Pae-otto is simply cooking your 
   rice in a flavoured stock, with 
   added vegetables etc. The trick is
   cooking the rice until it has soaked
   up all the stock and is dry and
   cooked but not burnt. 
    Now in Valencia they will tell you that the crust on the paella pan is the best part and I like it if not burnt. If you are serving this up to friends and family and you don’t have the credibility of the Valencia paella makers, then you might be best keeping the crust for yourself or leaving it in the pan.

Risotto of course is not cooked as dry as paella and is easier to manage without a crust on the base. It really depends on how you are intending to serve it. I like it dry for serving with salad and it is easier to put on the table for a self serve buffet like this. For an evening dinner I tend more to a moist risotto consistency.

 Ingredients

  for the stock:-       

4 tbsp dried mint               

1/2 tsp turmeric                

1/2 tsp ground ginger        

2 tsp dried thyme               

3 star anise                         

 2 bulbs of garlic                 
1 large onion                   
    1 tin chopped tomatoes                    for the rice:-                    

                                               400g wholegrain brown rice

                                                   565g frozen peas and carrots

                     

for the salad:-

400g sweet peppers      

275g cherry tomatoes   

100g fresh watercress   

120g fresh coriander      

Method

First for their invaluable help with vegetable chopping and other preparation my wrists cannot handle, grazie a mia figlia occupato l'utile Breeze e, naturalmente, il mio piccolo ninja cibo, la bella Modeleine .

    So let’s make a simple stock. Into a heatproof measuring jug first put the herbs and spices, then the pressed garlic and chopped onion and cover with the tin of tomatoes. Stir well. Top up to 1 litre with boiling water from the kettle. Stir well and leave to stand.

    Weigh and wash the rice and put in a large saucepan. Pour the stock over the top and stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. As the heat builds up in the rice as well as the stock the heat can turned down further.

     After 15 – 20 minutes add the peas and carrots, stir in gently  and turn up the heat again until simmering, then reduce as low as possible while maintaining a simmer. As the liquid is absorbed into the rice, test it. If too al dente add a little more boiling water, 100 ml maximum. Depending on whether you are going for a risotto or paella finish depends when you take it out. Wet for risotto or take the cover off and leave to dry on very low heat for my salad pae-otto. When ready torn out into a serving dish.

    

While the rice is cooking prepare the salad.

Cut the sweet peppers into strips.  Roughly chop the watercress and coriander and throw it all into a large bowl with the tomatoes.

Mix well. You can, of course, add the dressing of your choice, myself I like it naked or with just a light dusting of sea salt or spice, cinnamon perhaps? to preserve it’s modesty .

   Now for a buffet or party just put the bowls on the food table and let your guests help themselves. For a smaller gathering serve it up yourself.  Remember to remove the star anise before serving

                                                        

         And there you have it my friends, simple paella style rice that has soaked up the flavours and colours of the spices and herbs that you use. You can of course try your own combinations, the turmeric gives even brown rice a nice golden colour. Paprika will make it red and give it some heat. Try different rices if you like but remember the amount of liquid as well as cooking time will vary. Variations on which vegetables you add is easy, just remember to allow adequate cooking time is left for them before the rice is ready.

These quantities serve around 6 - 8, depending on appetite.

    This rice can be served hot or cold, it’s easy and tasty and infinitely variable to suit your own tastes. Definitely a recipe worthy of your collection in my humble opinion.

    The salad of course can also be changed, using different leafs depending on season, different peppers for sweetness or heat, different tomatoes for juiciness and different seasonings. Try not to overcomplicate and remember, if you are trying to eat healthily it’s the dressings that contain the baddies mostly.

Have fun with your cooking, play with your food, enjoy what you make and eat what you enjoy.

Love , leaf and life

from Pa 

Pa’s vegetarian ideas for summer parties, buffets and barbeques

Well hi and welcome to summer!

     Today I have just popped in a few great ideas from other other people, because not everything I do can always be original ☺☺

So here you are, if you are hosting a party this summer or going to one. If you are a vegetarian or have guests that are.

Or if you just like healthy tasty food here are some bright ideas to liven up your table.

 

 

 

 
    Simple fruit sticks and is that cheese I spy at the bottom?
    If not why not?
    Whichever fruit and cheese rocks your world make this a sophisticated, modern version of the old cheese and pineapple.


fruit skewers at Samuel Heath via rashon carraway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice salad idea from mybakingaddiction

 

 

 

Fruit, nuts, cheese, seeds and green leaves of your choice with an option of your favourite home-made dressing.
 
 
 

  

 

 
 
 

        A great idea here for fruit skewers, adapt it with your favourite fruits or just what you have to hand.

    A light dusting of cinnamon or ginger or another of your favourite spices might just give it that little extra something.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avacado and fig salad from calmmindbusybody

 

 
A nice colourful salad to brighten up the table, a busy recipe but could be simplified and modified to suit individual tastes 
                                

 ingredients
3 cups Romaine leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped into small pieces

1 Avocado, sliced into small pieces

3-4 dried Figs, cut into small pieces

1 Large Tomato, chopped

1/4 Red Onion, minced

1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3-4 Large Mushrooms, chopped

Juice from ½ a Lime

2 tbs Pine nuts

3-4 Black Olives, chopped

small bunch fresh Cilantro, chopped

1 cup cooked Black Beans

Hot Sauce, to taste

1/2-3/4 cup Corn Kernels (Fresh off the cob or frozen and thawed)

fresh mint and watermelon salad

 
     A simple bright and healthy salad from Jaimie and Kristen at idontgotothegym

Ingredients
5 cups watermelon - 1/2 medium sized melon
1 cucumber
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 lime
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that’s it for today folks, a few bright, tasty healthy ideas for summer. Now all we need is the sun but i’m sure parties wont wait for that.

 

Have lots of fun in the sun

 

Love from Pa

My Vegetarian Diet Day ?4 20/07/12

      Hi, this one is a day late and i can't remember much of what i was thinking yesterday. However the cupboard was bare and it was raining all day so i didn't go out to shop. You will see how that affects my diet. :-)

  Breakfast

      1 Banana 

      Small bar of dark chocolate, 85% cocoa

  Lunch

      1 wholemeal bread sandwich

   

    

Home made parsnip and blueberry jam :-)

  Dinner

      4 slices of pineapple

        

      1 can of vegetable soup

In a big mug 

      Chips and baked beans

  

Chinese takeaway chips 

+ 

a splash of brown sauce

salt and vinegar to taste

  Supper

      

      Valencia oranges

  Drinks

      Coffee, milky coffee, vodka, tea, water.

          Well i remember a little now, i did make the marvelous jam though the recipe and notes were in the lost notebook, so the recipe page hasn't gone up.

 There we are and Tich is giving me the heavy eyeball now, wanting to be taken out, so i'm off and you will have to make your own minds up about the healthiness of today's grub.

               Eat well and enjoy your food

                      Love from Pa

  

my vegetarian diet day ? 16/07/12

  Breakfast

      Banana

  Lunch

      2 brie with chilli, tomato, onion on wholemeal    
      bread sandwiches.

  Dinner
       
      2 slices of honeydew melon

      Traybake:- potato, sweet potato, mushroom,
      onion, sweet pepper. Salt and pepper to taste.

  Supper

      Valencia oranges 


  Drinks

      Coffee, tea, water.


      This is a quick one just to keep up, new fast
      format :-)
      Wow super healthy, low volume, bet i'm starving
      in the middle of the night :-D


          Enjoy your food

               Love from Pa 
   

15/07/12

Hola,
        Well here i am back from sunny holidays.

  First the bad news, i lost my notebook with my food log in it somewhere on the way to Spain, so i have got no chance of catching up with my vegetarian diet log on here. That has taken a natural pause, though i intend to resume tomorrow.

  Second the good news, in Spain i included a lot more fresh fruit in my diet and i intend to try and maintain that now i am home. So much fruit available everywhere in Spain but there is plenty in England as well. Shopping today, as well as my favourite bananas i also picked up a pineapple, a smallish honeydew melon and a bag of Valencia oranges. :-)

  Thirdly i am going to be experimenting with technical issues of this blog, such as hierarching and grouping to make accessing your favourite section easier and to try and stop my diet dominating, as it does now. So don't be surprised if you encounter strange and unpredictable results over the next week or so.
  

    Whatever you eat, always appreciate your food.

               Love from Pa