Whole Grain salads

I love summer salads! I can almost year you gasp and shake your heads with disapproval, but I’m not going to change my mind or withdraw my statement. I’m not talking limp greens and a soggy half tomato served with manky piece of cucumber and a radish if you’re lucky; I’m talking of delicious and fresh, crisp vegetables, fruit and nuts (yes, nuts) mixed with grains and pulses, drizzled in a light citrus dressing. By grains, I mean couscous or giant couscous, barley, rice, quinoa (keenwah) or bulgar wheat to name but a few.

Whole grains are a great way to fill your plate, they are a good alternative to pasta and potatoes. So if you’re fed up of serving the same things over and over, give some grains a try. Many have a slightly nutty flavour and a great chewy texture and nearly all work well in a salad as all the flavours and textures work well together.

Barley has been used in soups and stews since for ever. I remember my Grandad adding a handful of barley to some of his soups, and I can recall clearly, fishing them out and enjoying their lovely flavour before devouring the rest of the broth. It’s funny, unimportant events stick in your memory! Due to the starchy nature of pearl barley, it can be used as an alternative to rice in risotto.

The protein rich Quinoa seemed to arrived in some peoples cupboards, in the past five years or so. I’ve no doubt than many many British people have cooked and eaten it for decades, but the majority had never heard of it. I remember it being used on a reality style TV cookery program a few years back. I had never heard of it, and it seemed no one could pronounce it then, and most still can’t. 

All of these grains have a distinct and lovely flavour of their own, and mixed with some of your favourite summer vegetables and salad crops, they are a really wonderful healthy addition to most meals. Don’t forget to make a fair sized portion (or two) as they can be used the next day as a very quick and nutritious lunch or after school snack. 

Bulgar wheat is the grain used in the north African and Middle Eastern cookery in dishes such as tabbouleh and kibbeh. The bulgar wheat grain is cooked and dried, then the grain is cracked to form smaller grain pieces. These can then be simply soaked in hot water or stock to soften the grain, before being added to other ingredients to make the salad or chosen dish. Different recipes require different sized grains, but all are fundamentally the same. Pilaffs require the coarse grain and will need a little more cooking.

Couscous which is now commonplace in the UK and is often sold ready made, can be spiced or flavoured. Making your own however, is very simple indeed, and at a fraction of the cost! It always amuses me, that they sell the ready made couscous, and other whole grain salads, in little pots, in such small quantities!

Recently, I’ve been using the giant couscous, combined with lots of fresh leaves and the salad crops I’ve been harvesting from the garden. The best decision I’ve made in recent months was to tear out, well, remove and transplant all the flowers from the patch next to the kitchen. In their stead, I  planted a variety of lettuce, radish, spring onions, leeks, beans, kohlrabi and Swiss chard. It’s only meters from the kitchen door, so it’s easy to pick just a little of this and that, to add to lunches and suppers, with no effort at all. It doesn't matter what salad vegetables you add, but add plenty! Add a little dressing, or sprinkle on some dried chilli flakes and a little olive oil. Experiment with orange or lemon juice on a different occasion, or for this week’s recipe add some roased spices butternut squash and a drizzle of olive oil.  

Half Term Fun

Love them or loathe them, barbecues are a sure sign that summer is upon us. Burnt sausages, charred chicken and rubbery meaty burgers seem to be the delight of many! For me, it's the accompanying salads, the radish, home-grown tomatoes, cucumbers, salad potatoes ... the list is endless. Give me a bowl of freshly picked broad beans, shelled and boiled with a little butter, salt and pepper with crusty bread ... mmm a meal in minutes!

I do love meat, though. Succulent chicken drumsticks marinaded in yoghurt and mint, or in olive oil, chilli and ginger ... or a great piece of fish slowly cooked in a foil parcel in the barbecue charcoals – oh, I could go on, lovely summer time food, eaten outdoors. 

In the early evening, the rolling hills of the Towy Valley cast shade over the Pumpkin Patch Garden at Allt y Gôg Farm, whilst valley below continues to be smothered by evening sun, giving warmth and light well into the evening. For us shade dwellers, we've re- discovered the camp-fire, a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors well into the night, whilst providing heat and light and an alternative to the barbecue! A few years ago Sam, our eldest son, and an outdoor enthusiast, convinced us to purchase a fire tripod ... what an investment! We now boil, fry and steam a variety of meals for breakfast, tea an supper! Not just for a late night feast either – we’ve even cooked our Sunday morning sausages on the camp-fire – slightly crazy but a delightful and relaxed way to wake up at the weekend! 

For safety reasons The Pumpkin Patch hasn’t been introduced to this way of cooking yet, but I'm sure the teenage class will soon enjoy a camp-fire evening – I can't wait! 

If cooking in the summer months is more of a chore than a delight, and if you can't bear to stay indoors more than you have to, I recommend the “tripod” - your evenings (or mornings for that matter) will never be the same again! Failing that, the traditional charcoal barbecue or a gas equivalent is an ideal way to cook and spend more time in the garden. If you are out and about, I find the quick and easy throw away barbecue in a foil tray also work really well, but they can be small and are only hot enough for a short while. A great alternative is a small gas camping stove and a frying pan. Keep them in the boot of the car for impromptu meals on the beach or in picnic areas.

REMEMBER…Don’t forget to check any rules and laws relating to campfires, barbecue and gas stoves before you start cooking, and always leave the beach or countryside as you find it, and take litter with you. 

Half Term Fun!

This week is half term, and providing that the weather is dry, this is a great time of year to enjoy the great outdoors. Introduce young children to camping by pitching a tent in the garden, and allowing them to play in it during the day. Hours can be spent ‘pretend’ camping and enjoying a teddy bears picnic! Let toddlers prepare their favourite sandwiches, and eat their picnic tea on a rug on the lawn. These simple pleasures are some of the most memorable and can beat expensive days out. 

Things to do with the family this week

• Make home made fruit juice lollies or flavoured ice cubes for hot days
• Pitch a small tent on the lawn for youngsters to play in
• Make some bread dough for home made healthy pizza or tiny pizzeta snacks - see this week’s recipe
• Go on a country walk and take photographs to make a photo collage on a rainy day 

Fantastic Flat Breads

Ingredients

3 cups of flour 

2 Tablespoons olive oil (or yoghurt)

Lukewarm water (approx 300ml - 400ml)1  teaspoons salt

1  teaspoons dried yeast

Method 

• Place the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix 
• Start adding the water, bit by bit, mixing the dough with a spoon 
• Add enough water to make a very soft and almost sloppy dough 
• Knead the dough for about 5 minutes 
• Place in a bowl and cover with a tea towel (or shower cap!!)
• Allow to rise in a warm place for up to an hour 
• When the dough is ready, shape into small flat shaped breads 
• Gently fry in a frying pan for about 4 minutes per side until cooked 
• Serve with barbecued foods

TIP: These breads can also be made on the barbecue!

There’s something fishy going on!

It’s that time of year again…festival season! I’m not talking Glastonbury or V Fest, I mean the ‘foody’ type - the type I get invited to! It’s a great excuse to look for, and think up, new and different recipe ideas to experiment with.

Last weekend I was at the BBC Laugharne Live event at Laugharne Castle, the first of several Dylan Thomas Centenary year celebrations. It was a busy weekend, BBC Radio 2,3,4, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru were broadcasting live throughout the weekend, interviewing and discussing all things Dylan Thomas. 

Being more of a scientist than a linguist (at least that’s my excuse!) my knowledge of Dylan Thomas was and remains fairly limited. Though I must say, my knowledge has probably doubled since last weekend. Wanting to link my cookery to the theme of the weekend, I did a little research…. Google came in handy and saved me hours of reading (which i didn’t have) and I discovered a fair few interesting facts about Dylan. That, coupled with a Radio Wales interview working alongside Jef Towns owner of Dylan’s bookstore in Swansea (and expert in all things relating to DT), I now feel quite knowledgable, if not well versed in the works themselves!!

One thing’s for sure, I knocked up some seriously tasty ‘Dylan’, recipes all weekend. The recipes are also very Welsh ‘seaside’, seasonal and typical everyday fodder for the people at Laugharne in 1940’s. Thanks to the recently opened Towy Fishmongers, I stocked up on live cockles, A couple of kippers (smoked herring), some wonderfully pink salmon fillets and a tub of Samphire and laverbread, all from Carmarthen market, and from the friendly informative Owen.   

My research had uncovered that Dylan was rather fond of a bacon & cockle chowder, and that was a useful discovery because I already had a favourite recipe that was tried and tested. In a great article written by Sion Morgan (Wales on line) he gave me a rather quick insight to where Dylan ate and drank, and what he liked to eat, rather useful information when one’s about to embark on a weekend cookery extravaganza in Laugharne, surrounded by complete DT enthusiasts!

Another easily modified recipe of mine, would create Dylan’s favourite bubble and squeak served with kippers. I love Sweetheart cabbage fried in a little butter & oil, flavoured with chorizo and chilli; so simple but so tasty! I decided to add that to some crushed roast Pembrokeshire new potatoes, and top it all with a grilled kipper. A really healthy, warm comfort food, ideal for a cool summer evening sat outdoors next to the sea. 

Back to the chowder… The ingredients list is very long, but it’s worth it. Basically, fry the shallot, the celery and the bacon in a little butter and oil.  Add the 300ml of chicken or vegetable stock, bay leaf and thyme, then add the potatoes (very finely chopped, for fast cooking), and simmer and then add the cockles, milk, cream & seasoning.  That’s it!! Remember to check the seasoning before adding any additional salt as the bacon may have salted the stock sufficiently. Feel free to thicken the chowder with a little flour and serve with crusty bread.

If you’re not a cockle fan, try a similar dish - salmon or haddock chowder. Once the potatoes are cooked, sink a salmon fillet or haddock into the stock and poach the fish until cooked. Remove the fish from the pan, flake the meat and check for bones. Return the fish to the chowder, add the cream and serve.

Two simple recipes, influenced by Dylan himself! Give them a try this week.

Student SOS

Student SOS- It's time to get cooking!

This year has been quite a quiet year in our house. Last October the eldest child, our firstborn, left home, and went off to university. She left an empty bed, a half empty wardrobe, a spare car on the drive, four siblings a Mum and Dad.  

From then on, our house was slightly quieter. It would’t have mattered which of the children had left, but just having one less, makes a huge difference! It's not that she's a particularly noisy either, it's just that from the moment she left, there was one less person in the house. Our eldest was, and  probably still is, a chatty one, who loves music and plays the piano!  Enough said!

Soon, our second eldest will decide to apply to college or university, then the third in line, the fourth, and so on and on!  As parents we try our best to provide them with all that they need to succeed and survive away from home. We raise them, feed them, nurture them and hope that they will be capable, confident, self sufficient young human beings!

As babies we feed them and cuddle them, as toddlers we let them bang saucepan lids and mess up the living room floor with a myriad of colourful plastic pieces. Then comes the jigsaws, duplo, the lego, cutting and sticking, paint pots and papier-mâché. By the time they reach secondary school the splat mat, the high chair, the toy basket are long gone, and have been replaced by stereos, ipads, ipods, and other gadgets that serve no purpose to me!! Trips to the football club, the rugby ground, ballet, cycling clubs become the norm, and lets not forget about piano, guitar, and flute lessons! 

In these chaotic years of family activity, we sometimes rarely have time to cook elaborate meals for ourselves, and often overlook the need to introduce little ones to the basics of home cooking. Thankfully, although a generation or two have been deprived from the opportunity of knowing and understanding about food, the tide has most definitely turned. With the emergence of an enormous number of cookery and food related programs on TV, the youngsters of today are well informed if not well practiced! 

As a keen baker, My eldest was introduced to the excitement of baking cakes and cookies when she was knee high to a grass hopper! I would carry her round the kitchen on my left arm and, when the time was right, she'd perch on the worktop, wooden spoon in hand to help with mixing. These were in the days before small Ikea children's tables and chairs! It was also when we were ruled by common sense, and not a fear of health and safety! 

As Aimee sat mixing I would have my hip wedging her legs tightly to the worktop to prevent any sudden movements, falls and disasters. Not ideal I know, but at least she know how to mix and fold before she could read with any competence! Just seeing, copying and repeating familiar recipes, is a great basis on which to build and to develop further, as their interest and ability increase.  Cooking is like learning to ride a bike; it's mostly about confidence and practice and, once you can do it, you can do it for life. 

Now, despite being over 100+ miles away, I have no doubt that Aimee is eating reasonably well. I don't imagine that her bin is housing too many pot noodles and take away pizza boxes. It's so good to leave home with the ability to cook, to be able to eat a varied diet which doesn't cost the earth. In fact, during a recent conversation with Aimee, I learned that some students live on bowls full of porridge three of four times a day, others on just vegetables and water, and another on pasta , pasta, pasta. It’s not all bad, it’s just not ideal. I’ve no doubt that they will survive, but they could be healthier! Incorporating a few greens and other fruit and veg, and having a little variation in their diet would really improve things. As would being aware of carbohydrates and proteins, and other food groups and the effect that different foods have on the body.

Next week, I'll be visiting a local Secondary School to offer help advice and easy recipes for the Sixth Formers who will soon, like Aimee, leave for university. It's never too late, even with a few months to go. It's easy to pick up a few crucial recipes and ideas that will see them through their first few months away from home. Sometimes, it's just a matter of remembering what you already know, making a very simple list of favourite meals and how to cook them.  A quick list of snacks and puddings, and what to keep in the store cupboard for emergencies! 

So, if you're a student thinking of going away, keep a record of your favourite family meals and learn how to make them. If you're a Mum, a Dad, a Grandma or a Grandad, start doing the same, and write your treasured family recipes down for the younger generation to enjoy and take away with them. For a great student gift at the end if the summer, buy some of the ingredients they may need for the recipes; it's a great start to have a full cupboard at the beginning of term.  

There are a quite a few months to go yet, and just a few exams to pass in the meantime, but it's good to prepare and to plan ahead, especially if there's a few practice days and rehearsals needed first! Well, it's off to help the lucky ones at QE High this week, I'll let you know how I, and they get on! 

A super winter warmer

After weeks of what can only be described as incessant and torrential rainfall, we have suddenly been forecast a drier colder week.  At last!  Okay, it may get cold, but at least we get a break from the dampness that has virtually become the norm.  Crisp, beautiful sunny mornings lift our mood and lightens the spirit.  The light changes as it bounces off the icy paths and trees, children get excited at the prospect of snow and days off school, and evenings cosying up by the fire are enjoyed.

If there was ever an excuse to enjoy comfort food, it’s now, in the depths of winter.  That said, it would be a great shame to suddenly compromise all that hard dieting and exercise regime that we set about after Christmas, so what better way to enjoy the cold winter weather, than with a warming, wholesome, hearty bowl of home made soup and some crusty bread!

I have several favourite soups, and I really can’t name just one!  If I’m totally honest, I like my soups chunky, I like it served in a shallow bowl and with large chunks of fresh white bread with plenty of butter!  I’ll never pass on the cheese and, in the privacy of my own home, will even be found crumbling it into the near-boiling soup to create a bowlful of molten loveliness, ready to be scooped up with the bread!  Yum! 

Okay, here we go, my top ten… but in no particular order!!

Butternut squash and coconut - truly incredible and filling

watercress - a detox soup

Roast pepper and tomato - add to pasta

Tomato and basil - light and summery

Stinger soup - nettle - a tasty detox

Leek and potato - filling and comforting

Celeriac and apple - surprisingly good!

Welsh ham Cawl - lighter than the lamb equivalent

French onion soup - strong flavoured and wonderful

Thai prawn and noodle soup - with chilli & Ginger.

One of the great things about a soup is the speed in which it can be made and served.  From start to finish can be as little as 15 minutes, or more like 25 minutes at a more relaxed pace!  It’s easy to make up large batches, enough for the family, a few lunches or to feed the freezer for future meals. 

If you have babies and toddlers in the house, a soup really does feed all. Ease up on the salt or keep the baby portion separate before seasoning with salt and pepper and you have some super healthy, home-made baby food.  Store individual portions in the fridge or freezer ready for future use.  It’s possible to freeze small quantities in an ice cube tray, then tip out the frozen cubes into a sealed bag.  Remove a few cubes before leaving home, and baby’s food will be thawed by lunch time but still be chilled. Reheat thoroughly and cool before using.

Soup has moved on from the days of just opening a tin and heating through… though there are still plenty to choose from.  Soup now comes in cartons and in see-through plastic containers; flavours are varied, and the quality reasonably high.  Despite this, nothing quite beats a home made soup. 

Get the base right and then experiment with different flavours, play around with combinations until your tastebuds are happy!  A great base can be made by making a simple stock with an onion, celery and carrot.  Known to the French as a mirepoix, this makes the base for many lovely soups.  To make the stock, dice an onion, two carrots and a stick of celery, and fry in a little oil. Finally add a little water and simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Season the mirepoix with salt and pepper, add a bagful of watercress and blitz to make a simple watercress soup which is full of goodness and very kind on the waistline!!  

For a leek and potato soup, make the basic stock as above, add three chopped leeks and a large potato then simmer until the potato is soft.  Blitz to make a smooth soup or use a potato masher for a more textured soup.  Add a splash of cream to finish. 

For a really delicious soup which is more of a stew than a soup, (though please don’t ask me for the definition of either) see my butternut squash and coconut soup. This is a family favourite of ours and, as the weather hopefully dries up and cools, I can’t imagine anything better than tucking into a bowlful (or two!) of this highly flavoured warming dish.  Store in the fridge, and warm it up ready for the kids when they arrive home from school, it’ll soon warm them up, fill them up and keep them out of the biscuit tin!

Try making a new soup each week. As many of the soups I’ve listed are meat free, they really are very economical way to feed the family, and obviously suitable for vegetarians and even vegans.  Once you’ve mastered the basics… go crazy and try some whacky combinations, you may create the next super soup!