Lemon risotto with asparagus

I am in Lemon love. Never before have I been so besotted with a citrus fruit, but the lemon has captured my heart. It's the old friend who you never really saw in a romantic way until, well, you did. And then, Oh! Lemon Love! Here the lovely lemon acts as the acidic lip-smacker in the place usually taken up by white wine. I am not one to discard wine time lightly, so you can be assured that this recipe really is a cracker. Most defo worth a punt, particularly if you're trying to stay off the alcamaphrolic stuff and/or up the vitamin C factor to stave of the pesky summer cold (its already got me, sniffle..save yourself).

Ingredients for 2

1 small knob of butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

160g Arborio risotto rice

Juice & zest of 1 lemon

1/2 stock cube - chicken or veg

40g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Freshly boiled kettle with at least 1.25 litres in it

10 Asparagus spears - (allow 5-6 per person)

Salt

Method

Soften the onion & celery in a heavy-bottomed, over a medium heat, with the butter, olive oil & a little salt. Add the garlic, stir & then the rice. Turn up the heat, and stir to coat the grains with the pan juices.

When they are hot (after a few mins), add the lemon juice, and keep stirring until this has evaporated. Chuck in the stock cube and then you're ready to start adding the freshly boiled water from the kettle. Start with 2 cups, allow this to boil away. Then 1 cup & allow this to boil away, then add half cups until the rice is tender, stirring regularly. 

In the meantime, in another pan sauté the asparagus (purple sprouting broccoli is also yum) in a little olive over a medium-high heat. Pop a lid on & turn the heat down to medium and cook until burnished & tender. Remove from the heat and season. This can sit with lid on until the rice is done.

When the rice is cooked to your liking, turn off the heat and add the grated cheese, stir in with gusto & serve immediately, piled high with asparagus & lemon zest.

The good cookie

Tastes good and does good! This cookie recipe has no sugar, no flour, no egg and no nonsense! It will satisfy your inner Cookie Monster on diet days and fatso days alike! If you need a little more sweetness add in a squish or 2 of honey.

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed

1/2 cup of rolled oats

1/4 cup dark choc chips

1 hefty dessert spoon of smooth peanut butter

A little honey if you wish

Method

Mix all and dollop onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 15 mins in a preheated oven at 175 oC.

Carrot & coriander noodle (Vegan)

Swift, simple and super fresh. This is the salad for sunshine and belly bliss! There are days when only the most virtuous meal will suffice and this is a perfect example of such fare. If this dish could chat, it'd say... "I can make you feel good. Also you're awesome".

Ingredients for 1

1 carrot, cut into fine julienne

a generous half tsp of coriander seeds, ground

1 small red onion, finely sliced

1 pack of straight to wok rice noodles

A good glug of rapeseed oil

1 tsp sesame oil

Juice of a quarter of a Lime

Small bunch if coriander, roughly chopped

A few black sesame seeds and a chopped spring onion to garnish (if u hav them)

Salt

Method

Put the oils, lime juice a pinch of salt & ground coriander into a frying pan and stir. Add in the carrot & onion and warm over a medium heat for 5 mins to soften. Turn the heat up to high, Add in the noodles and stir fry for a further 5 mins stirring constantly. Serve with some sesame seeds & a chopped spring onion on top and a little more Lime juice if needed.

Raspberry & rose lemonade

Signs that spring has sprung are starting to peak through in blightly. So in order to capitalise on this summery feeling here is a deliciously fragrant and refreshing beverage that reeks of summer sunshine. Made with lemon juice, mint, raspberries and rose water this pink lemonade makes a wonderfully different non-alcoholic fruit punch. Although a good splash of gin is a welcome addition for a summertime social. 

Ingredients

For the Lemonade

3/4 cup golden castor sugar

1 cup water

4-6 Lemons (approx 1 cup of juice)

4 cups of cold water

2 teaspoons Rose water

For the Garnish

1 cup frozen Raspberries

Small bunch of Mint leaves

1 Lemon, sliced

Lemon zest

Ice

Method

Firstly make a simple syrup by putting the sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan and warm over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Juice the lemons (retaining some zest) & decant to a large jug; add in the rose water; water and the cooled sugar syrup. Top up with ice and through in the raspberries, mint, sliced lemon and zest. Stir and serve.

Caramel Apples & Salted Pecan crumb

If you are looking for a comforting warm hug of a pud on a snowy (March!!) weekend, this is a winner. Easy, Quick and deliciously sticky-sweet. Any tart green apple will do for this one, but Bramleys are brilliant.

Ingredients for 1

2 Medium Bramley Apples

3 tsp Lemon juice

A large knob of Butter

2 tsp of golden syrup

1 dessert spoon of golden castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon

4 or 5 Pecans

Pinch of Salt

Serve with Cream

Method

Peal, core and slice the apples into quarters and then each quarter into 3 or 4 equal chunks. Put the apples in a saucepan with the lemon juice, butter, syrup, sugar, vanilla & cinnamon. Stir to combine and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. 

Crush the pecans in a pestle & mortar with a pinch of salt (or bash 'em in a sealed bag with a rolling pin). Spread out on a baking sheet and toast under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes. Keep your eye on them as they will burn quickly if you don't pay attention.

When the apples are done, they will be just starting to break down into a purée and the syrup should be thick and sticky.

Serve topped with the toasted nuts and lashings of cream.

Tomato & black bean soup with a poached egg & avocado toast

I have been on a bit of a soup mission for a while now. Buying lunch in the city is turning out to be seriously unaffordable, so a Thermus has been purchased and soup recipes perused. This particular soup pulls together some fairly standard store cupboard ingredients to create a hearty, gloriously smoky sumptuous soup. It really is dependant on how good the paprika you use is, so get the good stuff out. Served with a poached egg & avocado toasts turns it into a bit more of a lunchtime feast. Expect more soup recipes to come!

Ingredients for 2

1 Tin of tomatoes

1 Tin of black beans

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp good sweet paprika

A pinch of garlic flakes or garlic salt if you have some

1 medium free range egg

A little vinegar for poaching

2 chunky slices of Rye bread, toasted

Half an avocado

2 tsp lemon juice
2 spring onions

A little salt

Method

Put the beans, tomatoes, oregano & paprika in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat. Allow it to bubble for 10 mins stirring occasionally. To poach your egg put a pan of water over a high heat and when it's at a ferocious rolling boil, stir the water to create a whirlpool and crack the egg into the centre. Put a lid on the pan and remove from the heat. Allow to sit covered for 4 mins. In the meantime put you toast on & mash the avocado with the lemon and season to taste. Spread on your toast.

Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon and sit in top of a hefty bowl of the soup & garnish with sliced spring onions.

Apple porridge & baked raspberries

This breakfast beaut is a version of Cranachan - a traditional Scottish dessert, usually made from whipped cream, whisky, honey, and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked in whisky. I've never really been a fan of the desert but this sober, trimmed down, breakfast version is delish.

Ingredients for 2

Oats - half a cup

Apple juice (the good stuff)- just enough to cover the oats

Raspberries - 1 punnet

Honey - 1 or 2 teaspoons

Pecans - a few if ya fancy

Greek yoghurt - at least 4 heaped teaspoons plus extra to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 200oC. Put the raspberries in roasting dish and drizzle with the honey. The amount of honey will depend on your fruit so taste them. You can also use frozen fruit rather than fresh raspberries, although they will break down a little more when cooked. Chuck the pecans into the roasting dish (if using) and bake for 15 mins in the oven.

Meanwhile, Mix oats and apple juice and cook briefly in microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring in between, until the oats have expanded and soaked up the juice. (You can also do this in the stove-top if you are microwave-averse). 

When the raspberry time is up, remove the roasting dish from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Mix the yoghurt with the cooked oats and transfer to the serving bowl/jar/cup. Add the raspberries and top with more yoghurt, the nuts and a couple if extra raspberries.