Asparagus and Artichoke Quinoa Salad

I made this salad a couple of weeks ago using lovely fresh in season asparagus picked near to where my parents live. I loved the combination of the artichokes and asparagus and quinoa seems to be the grain of the moment!

Asparagus and Artichoke Quinoa Salad (from Closet Cooking)
(Serves 4)

250g quinoa
8 artichokes from a can
4 tbsp pesto
250g asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup feta (crumbled)
1 squeeze lemon juice

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the quinoa according to packet instructions, adding the asparagus for the last 3-4 mins. Put the quinoa and asparagus into a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, mix well to combine and serve or pack into a lunchbox.

Roasted Aubergine and Chickpea Freekeh Salad

This is what I did with the other half of the aubergine I used for the pizza. I made a lovely tasty salad, full of delicious grains and aubergine. Really simple to make and a lovely lunchbox filler

Roasted Aubergine and Chickpea Freekeh Salad (from Allotment 2 Kitchen)
(Serves 1)

50g freekeh
1/2 aubergine, cut into chunks
cooking spray
1/2 small tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 spring onion, sliced
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the freekeh according to packet instructions. Drain, run under the cold tap and drain again well.

Put the aubergine on a baking tray, season and spray with cooking spray, tossing to coat. Cook in the oven until golden, about 10 mins.

Put the freekeh, aubergine, chickpeas, spring onion and coriander into a bowl or lunch box and drizzle with the olive oil, stir well to combine and serve.

Pesto Pizza with Goat's Cheese and Aubergine

This was a very tasty pizza and lovely to have something a bit different from a tomato sauce base. I also loved the combination of the aubergine and goat's cheese which went really well together.

Pesto Pizza with Goat's Cheese and Aubergine (from Good Food Magazine July 2014)
(Serves 2)

1 packet pizza dough
1 small aubergine, thinly sliced lengthways
1 medium red onion, thickly sliced
cooking spray
4 tbsp fresh pesto (shop-bought or homemade)
75g firm goat's cheese
chilli flakes (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Prepare the dough according to the packet instructions.

Spray the vegetables with cooking spray and season well. Heat a griddle pan and cook for about 5 mins each side, until black lines appear and the aubergines are soft. Remove and set aside.

Roll out the pizza dough and spread the pesto onto one side. Top with the aubergine, onion and goat’s cheese, broken into chunks, plus chilli flakes if you like it spicy. Cook on a baking sheet or pizza stone, until the cheese is melted about 12-15 mins.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie

This is a delicious smoothie full of healthy goodness with the pear and the spinach. I was a bit worried about the spinach but you can't taste it as the sweetness of the pear comes through.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie (adapted from Deliciously Ella)

(Serves 1)

1 pear

200ml milk

a big handful of spinach

a handful of oats

1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Slice the pear into pieces, taking out the core. Then place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve.

Mushroom and Wild Garlic Wholemeal Quiches

When wild garlic was about I made these lovely quiches, the recipe came out of my head as I had some cottage cheese and the wild garlic to use up and had no quiches in my freezer. I have the quiches there as an easy lunch I can take to work with no prep the night before, useful when I'm out at the theatre! I was also given some wholemeal flour a little while ago and I wanted to find things I could make with it, this seemed a good way to start.

Mushroom and Wild Garlic Wholemeal Quiches
(makes 4 small quiches)

110 g wholemeal flour, plus a little extra for dusting 
pinch of salt 
25 g lard, removed from the fridge for 20 mins
25g butter, removed from the fridge for 20 mins
1 tbsp oil

1 medium onion, finely sliced

300g mushrooms, finely sliced

bunch wild garlic, thinly sliced

butter and olive oil

rosemary, finely chopped

salt and pepper

4 eggs, beaten

50ml milk
150ml cottage cheese

Make the pastry first by rubbing the butter and lard into the flour in a large bowl until you have something resembling breadcrumbs, then add a tablespoon or two of cold water and bring it together into a dough with your hands, you may need to add a little more water to create the dough.  Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

In a large pan heat the oil and add onions, stir and gently sauté for about 15 mins until they begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the pan and then add a little butter and sauté the mushrooms, wild garlic and plenty of salt and pepper until they are tender, then turn up the heat a little and add the onions back in and remove from the heat.

Roll the pastry out and grease the quiche dishes. Line the dishes with the pastry. Scrunch up some baking parchment and then lay this into the pastry case and pour some baking beans on top. Blind bake for 10 mins on 150C

Once the pastry turns golden, take it out of the oven and set aside whilst you beat the eggs into the milk and cottage cheese. Pour the mushroom and garlic mixture into the pastry cases followed by the cream and bake on 160C for about 10-15 mins until golden and risen, set aside on a wire rack to cool.

Meal Planning Monday

So I skipped a day because of the Bank Holiday, which I spent walking around London and gardening. Last week went pretty much as planned. I went out for cake after work with a friend on Wednesday and we went to Sketch, near Oxford Circus. They have a number of themed rooms and we sat in The Glade. I had a Perfect Passion to drink, which was a non alcoholic cocktail of passion fruit, lychee and lime, slightly tart, slightly sweet.

Then I had the Gateau Chocolat/Caramel, which was Chocolate caramel mousse, cocoa dacquoise, crispy hazelnut feuillantine and caramel marmalade, it was seriously good. The atmosphere was amazing too, and if you go, you have to check out the loos!

This week is quiet, no going out in the evenings, just a week of work. Making it the perfect week to try and shift some of those excess pounds and have a WeightWatchers week. I have broken out my WeightWatchers cookbooks and I am exclusively using recipes from them. I thought I'd point everything out in my plan so you can see a little bit how I work with this plan. Recipes will follow of course.

Monday 

Berry Blitz (Cooking the WW Way) (0)

Banana (0)

Chinese Vegetable Pancakes (WW Cooking for One) (9) Chocolate Milk (1)

WW Chocolate Orange Biscuit (2)

M&S Salt and Vinegar Lentil Curls (2)

Spiced Meatballs with Roast Carrot Couscous (WW Fresh and Easy Everyday) (12)

Tuesday 

Cheese and Fruit (3)

Banana (0)

Eastern Coley Skewers in a Wrap (WW Fresh and Easy Everyday) (8) M&S Salt and Vinegar Lentil Curls (2)

WW Caramel Wafer (2)

Baked Chinese Trout with Noodles and Stir Fry Veg (WW Nice N Spicy) (11)

Wednesday 

Cheese and Fruit (3)

Banana (0)

Creamy Smoked Mackerel Pasta (WW Seasonally Sensational) (15)

WW Chocolate Biscuit Bar (2)

Chilli Chicken with Flageolet Beans (WW Nice n Spicy) (6)

Thursday 

Cheese and Fruit (3)

Banana (0)

Italian Fish Stew (7) with Bread (2) (WW Seasonally Sensational) 

WW Triple Chocolate Biscuit (2)

Spicy Chicken Patties (5) in Pitta (4) (WW Fresh and Easy Everyday) with Walkers Lights (3)

Friday

Cheese and Fruit (3)
Banana (0)

WW Cheese and Onion Crustless Quiche with Salad (7)

WW Caramel Wafer (2)

Chicken Makhani (6) with Rice (5) and Mango Chutney (2) (WW Seasonally Sensational) 

(2 points to play with)

Saturday

Berry Blitz (Cooking the WW Way) (0)

Out at Cupcake Tour

Courgette and Wild Garlic Soup (0) with Bread (2) (WW Seasonally Sensational)

Sunday

Rhubarb Yoghurt (4)
Banana (0)

Smoked Haddock Florentine (WW Easy Everyday) (10)
WW Caramel Wafer (2)

Chicken Tikka (1) Pitta (4) with 1 tsp Mango Chutney (1) and Crisps (3) (9)

Strawberries and Blueberries with 1 tsp sugar (1)

Roasted Asparagus and Farro Soup

This is the second recipe I made from the Super Grains and Seeds cookbook that I borrowed from the library. This was an absolutely delicious soup. I made a batch which I froze and when I defrosted it was a bit more like stew than soup but the flavours with the fresh and in season asparagus were just wonderful.

Roasted Asparagus and Farro Soup (from Super Grains & Seeds by Amy Ruth Finegold)
(Serves 4)

185g farro
750ml water
900g asparagus
2 small shallots
2 tbsp oil
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves crushed
1l veg stock
1 tsp allspice
handful parsley
grated zest 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Put the farro into a sieve and rinse under the cold tap. Put the farro into a saucepan and cover with the water, bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 mins, then drain and set aside.

Trim the asparagus, discarding the bottom ends as they are woody. Lay on a baking sheet with the shallots. Drizzle with oil, season well and sprinkle over the garlic. Roast for 20 mins, turning once.

When the asparagus is cooked, put it into a saucepan with the veg stock and puree with a hand blender.

Bring the soup to a simmer over a high heat and stir in the allspice. Add extra water to reach the desired consistency if needed. Add the farro, lemon zest and parsley and season. Serve.

Spelt and Spinach Salad with Prosciutto and Pear

I made this quite by accident, I suddenly realised looking through the cookbook this recipe comes from that I had all the ingredients and so made a last minute change to my meal plan. It's not usually my sort of thing but as I know that parma ham goes well with melon I though I'd give it a go with pear and it was delicious, the spelt added extra bite.

Spelt and Spinach Salad with Prosciutto and Pear from (Super Grains &Seeds by Amy Ruth Finegold)
(Serves 4)

200g spelt
handful fresh thyme
100g baby spinach
2 pears, sliced
12 slices prosciutto
salt and pepper

For the dressing
3 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil

Put the spelt in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over a high heat and then cook according to packet instructions. When cooked, drain and leave to cool.

Make the dressing by whisking 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar together with the oil.

Pour the dressing over the spelt and sprinkle in the thyme. Mix in the spinach and season with salt and pepper.

Put the spelt, spinach and thyme mixture onto a plate or into a lunchbox, and layer the pears and prosciutto on top.

Drizzle the extra 1 1/2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.

Chickpea Pancakes

This is the first recipe I made from the Deliciously Ella cookbook. I found these relatively easy to make although you have to have the pan on a medium heat otherwise it is difficult to get the batter to make a big enough circle! They were delicious though. I used some for my enchiladas and then made a couple of refried bean, pepper and cheese quesedillas with the rest. 

Chickpea Wraps (from Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward)
(Makes 4 wraps)

2 tbsp ground flaxseed
130g chickpea (gram) flour
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
salt and pepper
oil

Put all of the ingredients except the oil into a mixing bowl with 200ml water. Whisk it all together making sure the batter is smooth.

Leave the batter to thicken for about 5 mins.

While the batter thickens, heat a frying pan over a high heat and rub oil over the bottom of it using some kitchen roll.

Pour a quarter of the batter into the pan and spread it as thinly as possible into a circle. Cook for about 2 mins until there is no wet batter left on top, turn the wrap over and cook the other side.

Stuff with your favourite fillings and serve.

Chicken and Beans Enchiladas

This recipe feeds a crowd but is fairly easy to scale down to normal sized proportions! It's also really easy to make and yummy. I made my own chickpea pancakes as I got home and realised I didn't have any tortillas! They worked just as well.

Chicken and Bean Enchiladas (from Good Food Magazine July 2009)
(Serves 10)

3 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped,
1 sliced small bunch coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cumin seeds
6 skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
415g can refried beans (we used Discovery)
198g can sweetcorn, drained
700ml bottle passata
1 tsp golden caster sugar
10 tortillas
200g cheddar, grated

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, then fry the onions, peppers, chopped chilli and coriander stalks with half the garlic for 10 mins until soft. Stir in 2 tsp ground coriander and 2 tsp cumin seeds, then fry for 1 min more. Meanwhile, in another frying pan, fry the chicken in the remaining oil, in batches, until browned – add it to the pan of veg as it is done.

Stir the beans, sweetcorn, coriander leaves and 150ml of the passata into the veg and chicken. In a bowl, mix the rest of the passata with the other crushed garlic clove, the remaining spices and the sugar, then set aside.

To assemble, lay the tortillas onto a board and divide the chicken mixture between them, folding over the ends and rolling up to seal. Divide the passata sauce into the dishes you are using, then top with the enchiladas. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Cool and freeze (see freezing tips, below) or, if eating straight away, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then bake for 30 mins, scattering with more coriander leaves to serve, if you like.

Meal Planning Monday

So I had a lovely weekend, spent at my parents house with plenty of yummy food as well as a trip to the garden centre to pick up the last few things for the garden.

This week is relatively quiet, I am out tonight at a talk at the V&A and then pilates on Thursday other than that I have no plans. So the meal plan is somewhat adventurous with a few new things thrown in!

Monday

Salmon Sandwich Pie with Crisps

Parsnip and Tamarind Curry with Rice

Tuesday

Ham and Cheese Cornbread Sandwich with Crisps

Wednesday

Asparagus and Artichoke Quinoa Salad

Sausage, Spinach and Pumpkin Pasta 

Thursday

Smoked Trout Pasta Salad 

Mac and Peas with Salad

Friday 

Mushroom and Wild Garlic Quiche with Salad

Saffron Prawns with Bulgar Pilaf (Super Grains & Seeds)

Saturday 

Wild Boar Burger 

Asparagus Risotto with a Poached Egg

Sunday

Pork Belly Mantou

Roasted Tomato Pasta

I was looking around for recipes to try and use up a pot of cottage cheese and came across this tomato pasta recipe, which I loved. One of my favourite things are roasted cherry tomatoes, they are just so sweet and delicious and combined with spinach and pasta make a wonderful dish. I served it with a green salad.

Roasted Tomato Pasta
(Serves 4)
(6 WW ProPoints Per Serving)

400g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
cooking spray
250g wholewheat pasta shapes
100g reduced fat plain cottage cheese
50g spinach, chopped

Preheat the oven to 220C. Put the tomatoes cut side up in a roasting tray an sprinkle over the thyme leaves an garlic. Spray with cooking spray and cook in the oven for about 15-20 mins until soft but not mushy.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions until al dente. Drain reserving 4 tbsp of the cooking liquid and return the pasta to the pan.

Stir in the cooked tomatoes, cottage cheese, coking water and spinach leaves into the pasta and toss gently. Serve.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I have been revelling in the British strawberries that have just come into season, they are so juicy and sweet. Instead of just dipping them in a bag of sugar and eating them like I normally do, I also made a smoothie. This was yummy, lovely and thick because of the oats and fabulously fruity.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie
(Serves 1)

25g porridge oats
110g vanilla yogurt
60ml milk
100g hulled and washed strawberries
1 tsp flax seeds

Place the porridge oats in a blender and process until they are finely ground – this step is essential so that your smoothie has a smooth texture. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and process again until smooth. This smoothie has a thick texture, so just adjust with more milk if you prefer more liquid. 

Tequila Lime Prawn Quinoa Salad

Whilst this doesn't look like much from the picture, this is one of the tastiest salads I've had in a long while. The original recipe adds an avocado but I didn't have one, but that would definitely help the colour contrasts. The prawns really made this with lovely flavour from lime and tequila.

Tequila Lime Prawn Quinoa Salad (from Iowa Girl Eats)
(Serves 4-6)

300g quinoa
1 can sweetcorn, drained (or 1-3/4 cup fresh or frozen-then-thawed corn)
1 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 spring onions, sliced
bunch coriander, chopped

For the Tequila-Lime Prawns
340g raw peeled and de-veined prawns
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp tequila
juice 2 limes
1 tbsp honey
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

For the Chilli-Lime Vinaigrette
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp honey
juice 1 lime
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper

Bring a pan of water to a boil then add the quinoa, cook according to packet instructions. 

Whisk together all marinade ingredients except the prawns in a large bowl then add the prawns and marinate for 10 mins. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then mist with oil or nonstick spray. Add the prawns and saute for 1-2 mins on each side or until cooked through. Add to bowl with the cooked quinoa.

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid or then shake to combine and set aside.

Add the corn, black beans, red onion, and coriander to the quinoa and prawns then drizzle with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette. Toss to combine then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

Courgette, Mint and Wild Garlic Soup

This is a very garlicky soup! With both a garlic clove, and mine were french and therefore stronger, and the wild garlic this nearly blew my head off! I think next time I'll leave the garlic clove out.

Courgette, Mint and Wild Garlic Soup

(Serves 4)

2 tbsp oil

1 small onion sliced
6 courgettes sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bunch wild garlic
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Put two tbsp of oil into a large pan. Add the onion and saute for a couple of mins, until translucent but not brown. Add the courgette and the garlic. Season and saute for another min or two, cover with water and bring to a simmer to soften.

Simmer for about 10 mins, when the vegetables are cooked through, remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped wild garlic and mint. If it's too thick, add a little water to thin it out.

Blend with a hand blender, season with salt and pepper, and serve. 

Meal Planning Monday

So I had a fantastic time last week, the Mad Hatters Tea Party was fantastic, I had mock turtle soup, followed by pork stew and then a piece of tiffin with a butter cream rose on top with fruit coulis to pour over the top as we were painting the roses red, and then birthday cake! I saw lots of theatre and International Night on Friday was spectacular, there was so much food, you could literally eat your way around the world and I tried lots of new things not least a green tea kitkat! The Alice and Fashion Conference at the Museum of Childhood was also fascinating and I felt that I learnt a lot and it made me reinterpret my thoughts on Alice in Wonderland. Yesterday I spent the day in the garden, planting out all my veg plants and sorting things out ready for the summer.

This week is fairly busy too. I have two trips to the theatre, The Carmen Disruption at the Almeida on Tuesday and Beyond Caring at the National Theatre on Thursday. My Mum is coming on Friday evening and then I go to my parents house for the weekend. So there's nothing very exciting on the meal plan this week, mostly just freezer stuff.

Monday
Spelt and Spinach Salad with Pear and Parma Ham (Super Grains and Seeds)
Baked Orzo with Mozzarella and Oregano and Salad

Tuesday
Lamb Soup with Bread
Out before the theatre

Wednesday
Southwestern Quinoa Burrito with Crisps
Vietnamese Caramel Trout with Rice

Thursday
Ham and Pea Soup with Bread
Out before the theatre

Friday
Out at a course

Ham and Sweetcorn Pasta Lunchbox

This was a really tasty salad, I'm definitely getting used to the curds in cottage cheese and they're not bothering me so much anymore! It's a WeightWatchers recipe but it definitely doesn't feel like it.

Ham and Sweetcorn Pasta Lunchbox
(Serves 4)
(6 WW ProPoints per serving)

150g dried pasta shapes
150g small broccoli florets
150g frozen sweetcorn
150g low fat cottage cheese
110g smoked ham, diced
60g salad leaves
salt and pepper

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Add the broccoli and sweetcorn to the pasta about 3-4 mins before then end of the pasta cooking time. Drain and rinse under the cold tap.

Return to the pan. Toss the pasta and veg together with the cottage cheese and ham, season. Divide between four lunchboxes and top with the salad leaves but wait to mix them in until just before eating.

Jambalaya

I have been wanting to make jambalaya for ages but it kept getting knocked of my meals plans in favour of other things. However, I am so glad I finally made it, it was delicious. You could pretty much add any meat to this, I think chicken would work well, but I liked the spiciness of the chorizo.

Jambalaya (from Amazing Grains by Ghillie James)
(Serves 4-6)

2 tbsp oil
175g cooking chorizo, cut into chunks
275g ham, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled
5 whole cloves
2 sicks celery, finely sliced
1/2 heaped tsp dried oregano
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 pinches cayenne pepper
350g long grain rice
1 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
2 bay leaves
125ml white wine
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
700ml chicken stock
200g cooked, peeled prawns
handful chopped parsley

Heat half the oil in a large saucepan or frying pan and add the chunks of chorizo and brown for 3-4 mins over a high heat. Add the ham and fry for a further 2 mins. Transfer to a plate.

Cut the onion into quarters. Keep one quarter with the end intact so that it doesn't break up. Use this quarter as a pin cushion for the cloves. Chop the remainder of the onion.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the chopped and clove spiked onion, celery oregano and thyme for 6 mins or until soft. Add the peppers and fry for 2 mins before adding the garlic, cayenne pepper and rice. Toss over the heat then add the tomato puree and stir. Add the bay leaves, pour in the wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated, stirring over the heat.

Add the tinned tomatoes and stock, then return the ham and sausage to the pan. Stir, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 mins or until half the liquid has evaporated and the rice is cooked. Add the prawns and stir, cook for 2 mins. turn off the heat, take out the clove spiked onion and the bay leaves and discard. Rest the rice for 5 mins, stir in the parsley and serve.

Freekeh with Peppers, Beans and Sweetcorn

This was lovely and flavourful and I felt like I was getting lots of veg from the peppers, beans and sweetcorn. The freekeh also gave it a lovely texture.

Smokey Freekeh with Peppers, Beans and Sweetcorn (from Veg Hog)
(Serves 4)

250g freekeh

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

1-2 bay leaves

2 peppers, chopped

1 onion, chopped

400g tin red kidney beans

1 200gish tin sweetcorn

1 tbsp olive oil

½-1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

salt

4 leaves wild garlic

Rinse the freekeh and cook it in water with added vegetable stock powder and bay leaves until it's done. This takes about 20 mins.

Add the peppers and onion to pan with a little oil and cook for 5 mins.

Add the beans and sweetcorn to the pan with the spices and salt. Let it cook down for a few mins.

Add the freekeh to the vegetables and cook for 5 mins more. Add the wild garlic and pack into a lunchbox or serve.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals: Mushroom Farfalle

One more Jamie's 15 Minute Meal. I really liked this pasta dish, I made a few changes to the original recipe because I didn't have some of the stuff the recipe called for so I used substitutes. I also left the mushrooms a little chunky ad I like them that way. There problems with the truffle oil bottle as well, I couldn't get the lid off so that had to be left out but I'll try it again with the truffle oil if I ever get the thing open! I also liked the cottage cheese, it added a creamy texture and the cuds weren't too obvious.

Mushroom Farfalle (adapted from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals)
(Serves 4)

25g dried porcini mushrooms
oil
2-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
250g mixed mushrooms
1 tsp dried thyme
320g dried farfalle
1 tsp truffle oil
1 lemon
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
150g low-fat cottage cheese

Put the porcini into a mug and just cover with boiling water. Put 2 tbsp of olive oil into the large frying pan, squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher, sprinkle in the chilli flakes and tear in the mushrooms. Add in the thyme, then add the soaked porcini and toss and fry for a few minutes. Put the pasta into the large pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions.

Tip the mushrooms into the processor and whizz until fairly smooth, then return to the pan and add 3 small ladles of pasta cooking water and the truffle oil, season to taste and simmer gently.

Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of the starchy cooking water, then toss the pasta with the sauce, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed. Finely grate over the lemon zest, finely chop and add most of the top leafy half of the parsley along with the cottage cheese, then toss together and serve straight away. 

Meal Planning Monday

Wow, so next week is epic, I am out every evening and all day Saturday. Monday is bank holiday so I get a lie in! Then in the afternoon I am going to Inventing Impressionism at the National gallery with a friend and then to an Alice in Wonderland Themed Dinner at the Vauxhall Tea House Theatre. On Tuesday I am going to see Ah Wilderness at the Young Vic, Wednesday A Mad World My Masters at the Barbican, Thursday Who Cares at the Royal Court and then Friday is International Night at School where parents get together to create stalls and food from all around the world. Saturday I am at an Alice in Fashion conference at the Museum of Childhood. Sunday I think I'm going to collapse! So mostly I am eating out and making lunches or rather getting lunch out of the freezer!

Monday

Goat's Cheese and Pesto Toastie

Out at an Alice in Wonderland Dinner

Tuesday

Pasta with Asparagus, Parma Ham and Goat's Cheese

Out before the theatre

Wednesday 

Courgette and Wild Garlic Soup with Bread

Out before the theatre

Thursday 

Mushroom and Wild Garlic Quiche with Salad

Out before the theatre

Friday

Courgette and Cheddar Soup with Bread

Out at International Night at School

Saturday 

Cheese and Pickle Sandwich with Crisps

Goose Curry with Rice

Sunday

Baked Merguez Sausages Parcels

Fruit and Yoghurt Oaty Breakfast

I actually didn't like this all that much. I found the Greek yoghurt way too cloying especially mixed with oats and seeds and it was too cold straight out of the fridge. I think if I bothered to make it again I would use natural yoghurt rather than Greek. Also this is meant to serve 1 but it was way too much for one person so I split it into two.

Fruit and Yoghurt Oaty Breakfast (from Slender Kitchen)

(Serves 1-2)

175g fat free plain Greek yogurt

2 tbsp milk

68g rolled oats

1 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp flax seeds

150g strawberries

Mix together the yogurt, milk, oats, chia, and flaxseeds.

Using a jar or container, layer in half of the oat and yogurt mix. Then layer in half the fruit, repeat. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight