Pumpkin Muffins

We regularly have a coeliac trick or treater visiting us the last few years, so I always make a gluten free treat.  This year I have made Pumpkin Muffins, using gluten free self raising flour rather than self raising flour, and the scrapings from inside a couple of pumpkins we've carved.

Any leftover muffins will be used for grab & go breakfasts, in lunchboxes, or snacks next week.

Makes 12

125ml vegetable or light olive oil

2 large free range eggs

250g pumpkin puree 

100-150g sugar

100g mixed dried fruit

2 tsp pumpkin spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp ginger)

250g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Make pumpkin purée by simmering 250g of pumpkin in water for 15 minutes.  Drain and liquidise.  

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs into the oil, followed by the cooled pumpkin purée, sugar, dried fruit, spices and baking powder.  Mix well then stir in the self raising flour.  This is a quite a wet mixture, so unlike other muffin recipes don't be afraid to mix the flour in thoroughly, as the muffins still rise well having done this.

Divide into 12 muffin cases. Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, until a metal sewer comes out of the central muffins clean.

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Choc Chip Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins

More Grab & Go breakfast muffins for my 17 year old son, which he likes to alternate with Bacon & Cheddar Muffins I posted earlier, as he runs out the door to catch the bus to college.

Makes 12

100ml vegetable or light olive oil

75g sugar (optional)

2 ripe bananas (I freeze overripe bananas rather than throw them away, specifically to make this)

225g self raising flour or gluten free self raising flour

100g porridge oats

100g dark chocolate chips or cocoa nibs

1 tsp baking powder

2 large free range eggs

Put all the ingredients, apart from the chocolate chips/cocoa nibs, into a food processor and whizz until smooth. 

Add the chocolate chips/cocoa nibs and whizz to mix them in evenly. 

Divide the mixture into 12 muffin cases.  I use a generous vintage ice cream scoop, which only made 10 muffins the last time I made them.

Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, turning them through 180 degrees half way through the cooking time, until golden brown.  They are cooked through when a metal skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre.  If not, cook for a couple more minutes then check again.

Keep in an airtight container for 5 days, or freeze.

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Bacon & Cheddar Breakfast Muffins

Grab & go breakfast for students (and their parents on the train to London to watch the Women's Rugby World Cup Final).

The trick to muffins that rise well is not overmixing.  As ever I have attempted a few short cuts, like adding the bacon and cheese to the milk mixture, and weighing the self raising flour straight into to the wet mixture to avoid mixing several times (and reduce washing up).

Makes 12

250ml whole milk

80ml light olive oil

1 free range egg

200g cooked bacon bits

100g grated mature cheddar

1 small courgette, grated (he was not impressed by this ingredient)

300g self raising flour (I used half wholemeal self raising flour, half white self raising flour)

Brown the bacon in a non stick frying pan. Add the courgette if using to soften it and evaporate off some of the liquid.  Leave to cool a little whilst you mix the other ingredients together.

Beat the egg, oil, and milk together in a mixing bowl.  Mix the bacon and courgette into the wet mixture well.

Weigh the self raising flour into the wet mixture and fold in gently, just until you can no longer see dry flour.

Divide into 12 muffin cases, and bake at 200C/180C fan in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes before eating.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze and defrost overnight before breakfast.

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Alevropita, Greek Feta Bake

I love Spanakopita, but cannot be bothered with brushing innumerable sheets of filo with olive oil.  So this simple 'toad' in the hole style traybake has all the flavour and none of the hassle.  The traditional Alevropita recipe has just feta, but I thought to add spinach (and a few more flavourings) to make it healthier.

Serves 4

250g wilted baby leaf or chopped spinach (optional)

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

150g plain or self raising flour

200ml milk

2 free range eggs

1/4 tsp salt

150g crumbled feta

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed (optional)

1 tsp dried Greek oregano or thyme (optional)

Wilt spinach in a little water, pour into a sieve and leave to cool and drain.

Preheat the oven to 170C Fan/190C together with a baking dish with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Whisk flour, milk, eggs, and salt together into a smooth batter.  Add garlic and oregano if using and mix thoroughly

When the oven has reached temperature, take out the baking dish and carefully swirl the hot oil around the sides.  Pour the batter into the hot oil, then scatter over the feta and spinach. Swirl this into the batter and drizzle over another tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and crispy on top.  Serve with a Greek Salad (minus the feta).

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Miso Mushrooms (on toast)

A quick, easy lunch.

Serves 1

250g mushrooms
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp miso paste

Roughly chop the mushrooms into bite sized pieces.

Gently fry in the olive oil over a medium heat, stirring from time to time.

When the liquid is released from the mushrooms and then evaporates in the pan, stir in the crushed garlic.

Dissolve the miso paste in a couple of tablespoon of recently boiled water.  Pour over the mushrooms and stir them around until well coated. 

Serve on toast.

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Chilli Bean Wholegrain Salad

On a cool damp spring day a chilli is definitely called for, rather than a salad.  But I'm not cooking a chilli for lunch, so have just added many of the raw Chilli con Veggie ingredients to some warmed up grains.

Serves 2 as a light lunch

200g cooked pearl barley, quinoa, or brown rice

1 can black beans, drained 

1 pointed red pepper, diced

2 fat spring onions, sliced (or half a small red onion)

1 tbsp chopped picked jalapeños 

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano (optional)

2 tbsp mixed seeds (optional)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

A sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley or coriander (optional)

Dice all your ingredients whilst your grains are cooking, if you do not have any pre-cooked (I have begun batch cooking grains at weeks and freezing it in single portions for such an eventuality).  Diced tomato and avocado could be added if you have any to hand.

Stir everything into the warm grains, season to taste, and tuck in.

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GCSE Food Tech Bean Burgers

This bean burger recipe was in my daughter's GCSE Food Tech recipe booklet when she first began studying it in 2018.  It was such a tasty yet simple recipe that I copied and saved it.

Makes 4-5 burgers

2 ×400g cans of beans in water (borlotti, butter, kidney, black, chick peas or any other type – a mixture is good), drained 
handful of fresh coriander leaves and stalks
1 onion, finely diced

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

zest of 1 lemon or lime

3 tbsp plain or gram flour

salt and pepper

oil (sunflower or rapeseed) for frying

To serve (optional)

2 tbsp mayonnaise, piccalilli or chutney

¼ iceberg lettuce, shredded

bread rolls

1 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1. Place all the burger ingredients in a food processor and process for a few seconds. Alternatively, this can be done by hand, but you will need to mash the beans with a fork.

2. Using your hands and some extra flour, shape the mixture into four equal-sized burgers to fit your bread rolls. Editors note; add more flour 1 tbsp at a time if your mixture is too wet. I've had to add quite a lot more flour on occasions, particularly when using home cooked beans.

3. Chill the burgers in the refrigerator for 15–20 minutes until they are firm.

4. Shallow fry the burgers in some oil over a medium heat, turning them over every few minutes until they are golden and crisp on both sides (approximately 10 minutes altogether).

5. Before serving, prepare the dressing: mix together the mayonnaise (or piccalilli or chutney) and lettuce. Cut the bread rolls in half and toast under the grill on both sides. 

6. Spread the bottom halves of the bread rolls with the dressing, add a slice of tomato and some onion rings, then the burgers. Cover with the top halves of the bread rolls.

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Homemade Breakfast Buns

I've begun making homemade breakfast buns for my teens to have for a quick breakfast or packed lunch, in an attempt to reduce their diet of processed meat and breads. 

I make 8 rolls and 8 meat patties at a time and freeze them so they can be taken out the freezer the night before (or microwaved before they run out the door in the morning).  

I use this Homemade Burgers, Patties, or Meatballs recipe.

The buns are my new & improved Soft Baps, Burger Buns, or Rolls recipe.

I freeze the buns and patties separately so that there can be a choice of fillings.  Last week choices were pork & cheddar patties, home cooked sliced ham, or halloumi.  This week I am about to trial making patties from the River Cottage Tupperware Chorizo recipe, using turkey mince as a slightly healthier option.

My children don't always want egg, so this is added on the day of eating if wanted.  Feedback from my son is that a beaten egg cooked in our single egg frying pan is better than a fried egg, to avoid the risk of egg yolk squirting down his school uniform.

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Homemade Tortilla or Taco Wraps

The long life  of some supermarket wraps scares me. The ingredients taken from a pack of discount supermarket White Tortilla Wraps reads Wheat Flour (Wheat, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Palm Oil, Humectant: Glycerol; Sugar, Raising Agents: Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates; Emulsifier: Mono- And Diglycerides Of Fatty Acids; Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid; Preservatives: Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Propionate; Salt, Wheat Starch, Flour Treatment Agent: L-cysteine. Whereas homemade wraps contain Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Salt.

I've been meaning to try making wraps since the first lockdown in 2020.  Finally, 3 years later I have had a go.

I made 15 small taco wraps, which took me over half an hour cooking one after another in a single frying pan.  This has not put me off making more in the future, either making larger (and therefore less) wraps, or using two frying pans at a time if making smaller taco wraps again.

Makes 6-8 wraps or 12-16 tacos 

250g plain flour, plus a little more for dusting

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp fine salt

Mix flour, vegetable oil and salt in a mixing bowl then stir in 150ml warm water.  Once the mixture is well combined, knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover with a clean tea towel and rest for at least 15 mins before rolling out.

After resting, weigh the dough and then divide into as many wraps you need.  Roll out each ball of dough as thinly as possible on a floured work surface. Larger tortillas should be about about 20 cm wide, 2mm thick, and tacos around 10cm wide.

Heat a large frying pan (or two if making tacos) over a medium-high heat. Cook the tortillas for 1 minute on each side until golden brown and toasted. Wrap them in foil and cover in a tea towel to keep warm, while you cook the rest, otherwise seal in a bag for up to two days in a cool place, or freeze for up to three months.

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Mexican or Italian Bean Salad

Slowly moving into salad season, so I thought I'd experiment with a bean salad.

Serves 2

1 can beans in water, drained  (black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans)
1/4 cucumber, cubed 

1 beef tomato, diced 

1 red pepper, diced 

1 stick celery, diced 

1 small red onion, peeled & diced

Mexican dressing - small pack of coriander finely chopped, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 small green chilli pepper finely diced, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,1 tbsp red wine vinegar, freshly ground pepper & salt

Italian dressing - 2 tbsp finely chopped broad leaf parsely, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,1 tbsp red wine vinegar, freshly ground pepper & salt

Mix all the ingredients together with the dressing of your choice. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes if you can.  

Spoon into mini pittas to eat.

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Gluten Free Vegan Curried Vegetable Pancakes

We've gone pancake mad this Shrove Tuesday. Kids made sweet pancakes, OH made savoury pancakes with cheddar and chorizo, and today I've made Curried Vegetable Pancakes based on my Asian Vegetable Pancakes.

As the gram flour can be a little bitter, I made a quick Coconut Chutney to go with these.

Serves 4, as a light lunch

Pancakes

180g gram flour
350ml water
1 tsp salt
Thinly sliced, grated vegetables; 1 carrot, 1 small onion,  quarter cabbage (I used homegrown brussel sprouts)
1 tsp medium curry powder, or 1 tbsp garam masala, or 1 tbsp curry paste
Vegetable oil for frying

Coconut Chutney

100g desiccated coconut

100g cashew nuts

4 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp mustard oil

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1cm ginger root

100ml water or as required

Whisk the flour and water in a large mixing bowl. 

Finely slice and/or grate the vegetables, and mix well into the batter.  It should look like the vegetables are lightly coated in batter, rather than swimming in it.

Leave the veggies to rest in the batter whilst you make the Coconut Chutney if using.  Liquidise all the chutney ingredients, adding enough water to make a thick but pourable 'chutney'.

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, greasing with about 1 tsp vegetable oil. 

Add 1/4 of the mixture and flatten out in the pan.  Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over with a fish slice and fry the other side till golden brown too.  

Remove to a warm plate and continue to fry the next three pancakes one after the other (unless you have more frying pans).

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Calzone Pizza, Italian Pasties

I've begun making Calzone as one of my options for my son's packed lunch. I can batch bake them (baked with Baked Chocolate Oats this week), and then not have to flap around getting him something nutritious every morning. 

I've been filling them with chorizo and mozzarella, but you could use any of your favourite pizza toppings. I may even try using a samosa style filling.

Makes 2 large or 4 small calzone

225g white bread flour

130ml water

30ml olive oil

1 tsp quick yeast

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 ball of mozzarella, cubed

100g diced chorizo or ham

My calzone recipe comes from our Bread Machine book, given to us with our first bread machine 19 years ago, so mixes and kneads the dough on a bread machine dough cycle. But it can be done by hand.

Mix and knead the dough on a dough setting. Ours mixes/kneads for 10 minutes, rests for 10 minutes, kneads for another 5 minutes before resting again for a final 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C.

When the dough cycle has finished, tip the bread dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Knock it back and divide into 2 or 4 equal sized pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a flat circle. This is easier than it sounds, as I find yeasted dough springs back.  My solution is to roll the all circles out then go back to the first one and roll/stretch them back out again before filling, and then on to the next.

Divide the filling between the dough circles, placing it on one half of of the circle, and leaving a 1.5cm border at the edge. 

Dampen the border with water. Fold the circle in half over the filling and twist or crimp the edges to seal.

Place on a lined baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes until golden and well risen.

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Baked Chocolate Oats

Since the summer I've been trying to cut on ultra processed foods, including cereal bars.  I saw this recipe on Instagram and thought I'd give it a go.

475ml milk, plant based if preferred

100g maple syrup

4 tbsp peanut or other nut butter

1 tsp vanilla essence 

200g porridge oats

25g cocoa powder

2 tbsp flax seeds

1 tsp baking powder

100g dark chocolate chips

Pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Mash the peanut butter with a little milk to break it up.  Add and mix the rest of the wet ingredients together.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.

Grease a high sided baking dish and pour in the quite runny mixture.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes.  

Eat warm like a pudding, or cold as a hearty, Brownie like, cereal bar.

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Asian Vegetable Pancakes with Dipping Sauce

Easy vegetable pancakes.  

There is some debate in our house, with an Anime obsessed teenage son,  whether these are Korean Vegetable Pancakes (Yachaejeon), or Japanese Vegetable Pancakes (Okonomiyaki). 

I followed a brief Korean pancake recipe off Instagram, but added a few more (Japanese) flavours, and googled a Korean dipping sauce because there wasn't one on the Instagram recipe.

Serves 4, as a light lunch

Pancakes

180g plain or self raising flour, white or wholemeal
350ml water

1 egg (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp miso paste (optional)

Thinly sliced, grated vegetables; 1 carrot, 1 small onion, quarter cabbage,1 medium courgette, 4 spring onions

1 tsp finely grated ginger

1 tsp finely grated garlic

Vegetable oil for frying

Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce 
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

Whisk flour, water, egg, salt and miso together in a large mixing bowl. 

Finely slice and grate the vegetables, ginger and garlic and mix well.  

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, greasing with about 1 tsp vegetable oil. 

Add 1/4 of the mixture and flatten out in the pan.  Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over with a fish slice and fry the other side till golden brown too.  

Remove to a warm plate and continue to fry the next three pancakes one after the other (unless you have more frying pans).

Whilst frying the pancakes mix up the dipping sauce ingredients and divide into 4 small bowls.

Cutting the pancakes into a 'chequerboard' seems to be the preferred presentation for serving, ready to dip large bitesize pieces into the dipping sauce with chopsticks.

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Healthy Sugar Free Cereal Bars

This healthy sugar free cereal (oat) bar recipe is from Instagram.  I've made it a couple of times, adding different 'flavours' each time.

Makes 8 bars

150g (2 small) ripe bananas

60g nut butter (peanut, or any other nut butter - I made my own hazelnut butter by just whizzing up a pack of hazelnuts)

2 tbsp maple syrup, honey or golden syrup

150g porridge oats or muesli

Flavours

- the original recipe added 40g dark chocolate chips as a topping, pressed into the bars once packed into the baking pan

- I added 40g dried cranberries to my first batch

- To my second batch I added 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp flaxseeds, and 40g cocoa nibs

- I will probably add at least 1 tbsp of seeds to future batches, plus 40g of dried fruit or dark chocolate chips

- As muesli has added nuts and fruit, there is no need to add more, although you may need to add a couple of tablespoons more of muesli to ensure the dough is less wet

In a medium sized bowl, mash the bananas together with the nut butter and syrup.  Stir in the oats, seeds, dried fruit or chocolate in well to make a stiff lumpy dough.

Pack the dough into a brownie tray linked with greaseproof paper, smoothing everything down down with the back of a spoon, including the edges 

Bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes.  Leave to cool for 5 minutes then score into bars.  Wait until room temperature before cutting fully into bars.

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Quick Easy Homemade Pitta Bread

Wow, homemade pitta pockets are so easy (and relatively quick) to make.

I've been reading a lot about Ultra Processed Food over the summer. More than half the calories the average person in the UK eats come from ultra-processed foods. 

Ultra-processed foods contain ingredients that you wouldn’t add when cooking homemade food such as chemicals, colourings, sweeteners and preservatives. Recent studies suggest an association between diets high (85%+) in ultra-processed foods and obesity, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. 

The most commonly eaten ultra-processed foods in the UK are: industrialised bread (11 per cent), pre-packaged meals (7.7 per cent), breakfast cereals (4.4 per cent), sausages and other reconstituted meat products (3.8 per cent).

So, top the list, time to get making homemade bread.

Makes 6-10 pittas

350g strong bread flour, I used 100g wholemeal + 250g white

210ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp quick yeast

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Mix all your ingredients in a bowl (food processor with a dough hook, or bread machine). Knead the dough for 10 minutes, then cover and leave to prove for 30 minutes.  I used the dough cycle on my bread machine which runs for 45 minutes including kneading.

Tip the proved dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock back. Divide into 6 or 10 equal pieces, depending on whether you want normal or small pittas, and shape into a ball.

Cover the balls a large bag, ensuring the plastic does not touch the dough by using strategically places tall glasses or similar. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, turn on the oven to 230C and place 2/3 baking sheets in to heat up. Whilst the oven is heating up, flatten  then roll out each dough ball to an oval pitta shape about 5mm thick. Place the rolled out pitta on a piece of baking paper the size of your heating up baking sheets.

When the oven is up to temperature, carefully slide the baking paper with the pittas on onto the the hot baking sheets. Bake for 5-6 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack until cool enough to handle.

We made gyros out of my first ever batch. My next batch is destined to to be used for koftas, and possibly pitta crisps.

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Protein Packed Noodles

These protein packed noodles are my son's lunch today whilst out at a drama workshop

Serves 1

1 bundle soba noodles

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1/4 cucumber, grated

50g smoked salmon trimmings

1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp miso paste

1tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/8 tsp hot chilli flakes

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and leave in cold water.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, then stir in the cucumber, smoked salmon, spring onion and cold noodles.

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Whipped Feta Dip

Whipped feta is oh so simple, and a great quick dip.

Not sure how/why I stumbled across whipped feta, but it makes a great quick dip with a choice of several flavours. I didn't add anything more than garlic to mine today though, as I was using it as a cheesy white sauce for a Greek Courgette Lasagne.

200g feta, drained and broken up 
4 tbsp greek yoghurt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil or chives (optional)

½ tsp smoked paprika, plus extra to serve (optional)

Blend all ingredients until smooth in a mini food processor. Serve with toasted pitta.

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Courgettes in a Japanese Style Teriyaki Sauce

 

First stab at diminishing my courgette glut, with Japanese flavours in an attempt to win over the courgette hating Japanese food obsessed teen Big Boy.

Serves 4 as an accompaniment

4 courgettes, grated or julienned

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp runny honey

4 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine (or apple cider) vinegar

1 large garlic clove, peeled & crushed

4cm ginger, finely grated

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. When hot add half the courgette and spread out to a single layer fry for a few minutes. You want them to fry rather than steam. After a few minutes push the courgettes the pan to the side and add the rest of the courgettes, spread out as much as possible and continue frying, stirring from time to time.

Whilst the courgettes are cooking mix the sauce ingredients in a mug.

The courgettes are ready when starting to go translucent, limp, and tender, although you can continue to fry until lightly brown (if there is to too much liquid in the pan) or serve with still a bit of crunch. When cooked to your liking, turn the heat down to low and stir through the sauce and you're done.

Serve either hot or cold.  I served ours with mixed through noodles, and as a side for the sceptics.  If I can win over Big Boy I will stir it through Japanese rice for packed lunches when he returns to school.

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Greek Roast Chicken Salad Gyros Wraps

A friend posted a holiday photo of her and her son eating gyros on holiday in Greece a few weeks ago, so faced with leftover chicken, salad, and wraps for the kids lunch I attempted a gyros kind of thing.

Serves 1

1 wrap
1/2 lettuce leaves

Half a tomato sliced

Small handful cooked chicken

Sliced red onion

2-3 tbsp tzatziki 

Ground cumin

Chilli powder or hot paprika

Pitted olives

Lay the lettuce leaf(s) down the centre of your wrap in a strip, then a strip of tomato slices, then the other ingredients. Sprinkle with cumin, chilli, salt, and pepper to taste. Fold up the bottom of the wrap to catch any juices, then roll, and tuck in without putting it down.

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