Pappardelle with Roasted Winter Squash, Rocket and Pistachios

Oh my but I do love me some pasta from time to time. Todd . . . he does hate it with a passion and so . . . I only ever have it very infrequently . . . almost never really.



The other day he was going with the missionaries to have lunch at a Single Sister's house and so I decided to fulfil my flagrant need to eat some pasta and threw together this dish.



Unfortunately my Pappardelle was a bit broken up . . . which didn't affect the flavour at all . . . just the looks. It went down the same and tasted every bit as delicious.



I love butternut squash as well, especially roasted until it is almost caramelized . . . and I love the flavour of sage . . . rocket . . . je t'adore . . . and pistachios??? Well, they just happen to be my most favourite nut of all time!!



So . . . let's see now . . . roasted butternut squash all sweetly caramelized at the edges . . . toasted pistachio nuts . . . oh so scrummy . . . sage . . . all musty herby . . . the peppery bite of rocket . . . almost meaty . . . buttery al dente pasta . . . oh . . . and cheese, finely grated Parmesan Reggiano . . . all together in my bowl, on my fork and in my tummy.



Bliss. Pure and utter bliss . . .




*Pappardelle with Roasted Winter Squash, Rocket and Pistachios*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Easy to cook and relatively low in fat. Low fat doesn't have to mean dissatisfied. This pleases on many levels! It's peppery, sweet and quite filling!

4 cups of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
(about 1 medium sized squash)
2 TBS of good quality Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
low fat cooking spray
8 ounces uncooked pappardelle or fettuccine
1 TBS butter
4 TBS coarsely chopped raw shelled pistachio nuts
1 TBS chopped fresh Sage leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 of a 70g bag of washed rocket (2 cups)
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
corasely ground black pepper to garnish

Preheat the oven to 230*C/475*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with foil wrap. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

Toss the squash cubes together in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and some pepper. Spread out on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 25 minutes or so, until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

About halfway through the baking time for the squash cook the pasta, according to the package directions, omitting any salt or fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 TBS of the cooking liquid.

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pistachio nuts, sage and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes until the nuts begin to toast and the mixture becomes very fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and toss in the drained pasta, cooking liquid, roasted squash and rocket, tossing all together gently to combine. Add a pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper and the cheese. Toss gently again to combine. Serve immediately.



Baking in The Cottage today, a delicious Golden Jubilee Cake.

Gingerbread Roasted Chickpeas

Every once in a while I try to do something really healthy for myself. I like to have something to munch on sometimes in the evening when the Toddster and I settle in to watching the telly and it's nice to have a healthy option available.



I love chickpeas! (Or Garbanzo Beans as they are sometimes called in North America) Trouble is they don't always like me! 'Nuff Said!



They become incredibly moreish when they are roasted in the oven until they are all toasty and crunchy! They're also very versatile when done this way as you can always change up or down the herbs, spices and flavourings to your own taste.



Today I did them with traditional Gingerbread flavours and boy oh boy, they are some good!



It's not that easy to photograph roasted chickpeas in a favourable light, and to make them look interesting . . . I've done the best that I could.



Try some today. You'll be glad you did I reckon! ♥☺♥ These would make great nibbles to have with drinks over the holidays instead of peanuts. They're high in fibre and relatively low in fat . . . healthy even!



*Gingerbread Roasted Chickpeas*
Makes about 2 cups
Printable Recipe

Deliciously, moreishly scrummily delish!

1 (420g) tin of chickpeas, drained ( 15 ounce)
2 tsp of salad oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
1 TBS raw granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 TBS runny honey

Preheat your oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a baking tray with sides. Put this into the oven while the oven is heating.

Drain your chicken peas really well, giving them a good old rinse under cold water until the water runs clear and then shake them really well to get a lot of the water off. Put them into a bowl. Toss together with the salad oil and all of the spices and the granulated sugar. Mix them up really well. Toss them onto the heated baking tray.

Bake for 15 to 40 minutes giving the baking tray a good shake every ten minutes or so. By the end of that time they should be crunchy and no longer soft in the middle. If not, bake them for a few minutes longer, but watch carefully so that they don't burn.

Remove from the oven, drizzle the honey over top along with the salt and give them a good old shake to coat. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. So good!!

Note: Chili spiced ones are good as well. Just swap the sweet spice here for ground cumin, oregano, ground coriander and some mild chili powder. Keep in the sugar, honey and salt. Scrumdiddlyumptious also!



And over in The Cottage today, you'll find Sesame Chicken. Deliciously simple!

Carrots with Sage and Lemon Butter

I don't always cook things in the English Kitchen that are incredibly rich and scumptiously fattening, like cakes and cookies. Occasionally I also cook vegetables!







Actually I cook vegetables every day. I just don't always show them to you. We actually eat a fairly healthy diet most of the time. I only ever rarely fry anything . . . and most of the cakes and goodies I bake get given away to friends and the missionaries.







Todd does eat some of them of course, but with there only being two of us in the house . . . it would go off before it would get eaten and so I gift it. I have tastes too . . . and I adore them, I really do! (All the more reason to give some of it away!)







I don't mind giving it away and don't look at it as a waste. I get a lot of pleasure out of baking and gifting . . . and tasting!!







Today I cooked some fresh carrots from our garden in this delicious manner. I can't take credit for the recipe. It is from a Waitrose booklet from several years ago. Oh my goodness, but they are some good.







Sage and lemon . . . not just good with chicken and fish, but utterly scrumptious with carrots as well!



Who knew!!







*Carrots with Sage and Lemon Butter*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe



Crispy tender carrots with a sage and zesty lemon butter!



12 sage leaves, chopped

the zest and juice of one lemon

1 pound of carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced

30g of butter (2 TBS)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper



Put the chopped sage leaves into a pestle and add the lemon zest. Season with some salt and black pepper. Pound together with the mortar and then stir in the lemon juice. Put the carrots into a pan of lightly salted water. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until crispy tender. Drain well. Return the carrots to the hot pot. Add the butter and the lemon/sage mixture. Toss everything together and them pour into a heated serving bowl to serve. Delicious!







Have any of you tried this yet??? It's incredibly good and makes a good change from plain old rice. I think it's also rather good for you as well! Low GI and all that. I highly recommend!!







Over in Oak Cottage today there is a delicious Chicken and Butternut Squash Gratin that might grab your fancy!

Chicken Curry with Rice

This recipe here today is in honor of a good friend of mine named Jo. She just loves a good curry, and like me, she is always trying to watch her weight! (She's a bit better at it than I am though!)



Jo used to be the housekeeper at the Manor when I first started working there. Over the years we became good friends, and I really missed her when she and her husband left the area to pursue their dreams. She's now a Chiropodist, and her husband, well . . . he is still a plumber, but quite happy in his work!



Jo and her husband took me out to my very first Indian Restaurant actually! We had a really good time. They also took us to our very first Gherka Restaurant, and introduced us both to Thai Food as well! I guess you could say that they are very worldly in their tastes when they eat out!



They also enjoy a good curry at home. Colin likes the blow your head off kind . . . a hearty hot Madras, whilst Jo opts for something a bit milder.



This is probably a bit too mild for her, but she (and you) can certainly adjust the heat by adding more tikka paste, or even some chili powder. I found it just right for me. One thing she won't mind though is the fact that it's relatively low in fat and filled with lovely spinach, both for colour and texture.



So anyways, I never eat a curry now without thinking about Jo, and giving her a nod of thanks for having broadened my tastes!



*Chicken Curry with Rice*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is quick and easy and relatively low in fat. There is no cream or coconut milk added. The spinach makes it quite healthy as well. You could cut the fat even more by using chicken breast meat instead of thighs. I think you could safely cut the oil in half as well.

2 TBS vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (trim off any fat and discard, then cut into strips)
2 TBS tikka masala curry paste
200g tin of chopped tomatoes (2 cups of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice)
450ml of hot vegetable stock (1 1/2 cups) (Use low salt stock)
7 ounces basamati rice (3/4 cup)
1 tsp salt
1/2 pound of baby leaf spinach (225g)
naan bread and mango chutney to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry, stirring, over medium heat, for about 5 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and chicken. Stir fry for another 5 minutes, until golden.

Add the curry paste, tomatoes and stock. Stir and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, giving it a stir every so often to make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom.

While the chicken is cooking, cook the rice. Bring 1 pint of water to the boil. (2 cups) Add the rice and salt and stir. Cover and reduce the heat to it's lowest setting. Cook for the time stated on the package of rice. Once cooked, cover with a teatowel and the lid. Leave for 5 minutes to absorb the steam.

Stir the spinach into the curry and cook until just wilted. Spoon the rice into heated bowls. Ladle on the curry and serve immediately, along with the naan bread and some mango chutney.


You can get a good Peshwari Naan Bread recipe here. It's delicious!

Vanilla Poached Plums

I got a really good deal at the grocery shop the other day on some plums. A whole punnet for only 25 pence! How could I resist! We love plums! They were as hard as a rock, of course, but that is not a problem if you plan on cooking them, in a crumble or a cake . . . but I had something else in mind.



Poached plums. Beautifully tender plums, with a lovely vanilla scented and flavoured syrup spooned over top, with just a hint of lemon.



Oh my but these are good. I like them with a nice scoop of Vanilla Bean Icecream on top . . . it's the Canuck in me. Todd likes them with lashings of custard . . . he's a Brit . . . his veins run with custard.



They are equally as good served with a dollop of tangy Greek Yoghurt or Creme Fraiche.

One bite and I was back in Austria where we holidays two summers ago . . . each morning they served us these lovely poached plums for breakfast, along with yoghurt and meusli. It was a gorgeously delicious and healthy breakfast.



But . . . trust me when I say . . . these are a bazillion times scrummier!



*Vanilla Poached Plums*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Poaching fruit is the perfect thing to do with supermarket fruit that you know will annoyingly rot before it actually ripens. Actually hard fruits are just wonderful done this way. It gives them new life. We like this with vanilla ice cream, but a dollop of Greek yoghurt or Creme Fraiche is always lovely too. You also don't need to keep the spices at just vanilla. Try using some bruised cardamom pods, cinnamon or cloves along with the vanilla!

8 plums, washed, cut in half and stoned
1 litre of water (4 cups)
7 ounces of caster sugar (1 cup)
a strip of lemon peel, no pith
the juice of half a lemon
1/2 a vanilla bean, split lengthwise



Place the water, sugar, lemon peel, and lemon juice in a deep skillet, just large enough to hold all the plum halves in a single layer. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds into the mixture. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the plums cut side down. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Flip them over and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes, just until they have surrendered their firmness and absorbed some of the syrup. They should be just tender to the tip of a knife. Scoop the plums out immediately to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Cool the syrup down as well. Spoon the fruit into dessert bowls and spoon some cooled syrup over each serving. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of Greek Yoghurt or Creme Fraiche. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

I am so happy that lighter days are here and grateful for sunnier days as well. My food pictures turn out so much nicer!

Chicken Scaloppine with Spring Greens

I know it may not seem like it, but I do try to eat as healthily as possible most of the time. We eat very little red meat . . . and I only very rarely deep fat fry anything.



We often eat chicken or fish, or no meat at all, but we always have lots of vegetables. WE love vegetables and by that I don't mean tinned peas and carrots, although, I suppose they are better than no vegetables at all!



This is one of my favourite dishes this time of year. It's somewhat a break away from stodgy winter food . . . light and colourful too. Light in flavour, texture and fat and calories as well.
The chicken is flash fried in a very small amount of oil . . . it is crispy on the outside and yet tender and moist on the insides because it hasn't been over cooked. The light breadcrumb coating is delicious.



The greens are wonderful . . . a bit salty from the pancetta, smokey and slightly sour, and tasting of the earth and well . . . spring!



The two together are wonderfully delicious! All you need as a side dish is some tasty steamed baby new potatoes and a juicy wedge of lemon for squeezing over the chicken! Roll on Spring! I am feeling frisky like a newborn lamb and anxious for some sunshine!



*Chicken Scaloppine with Spring Greens*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Flash cooked chicken breast, moist and tasty served along side some lightly sauteed spring greens. Low fat and healthy too!

1 TBs olive oil.
2 ounces fine dry bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp dried oregano, rubbed between your fingertips
1/4 tsp dried basil, rubbed between your fingertips
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
5 (6 ounces) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
100g of pancette, cut into cubes (about 1/4 cup)
4 ounces dry white wine (1/2 cup)
4 ounces chicken stock (1/2 cup)
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 tsp butter
1 pound of spring greens, sliced crosswise
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 TBS capers, rinsed and drained

Place the chicken breast between two sheets of cling film and give them a bash with the side of your rolling pin until they are about 1/4 inch thick, taking care not to tear them. Mix the bread crumbs and seasonings together on a large shallow plate. Coat the chicen breasts in this mixture, patting them to help the crumbs adhere well.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts for about 3 minutes per side, until nicely browned and just done through. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Add the pancetta to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they are nicely browned. Add the wine, broth, lemon juice and butter to the pan, scraping the pan to loosen up any tasty bits. Add the sliced spring greens. Cook and toss in the pan juices for several minutes, then cover and allow to steam until done, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and capers. Divide the greens amongst four heated plates. Top each with a chicken scaloppine and serve immediately.

Notice - I am thinking of hosting a blogging event similar to that program on telly, called Come Dine With Me. I was wondering how many of you foodies out there would be interested in participating. On the show Come Dine with Me, a group of people each hold a dinner party and then they vote on each other's dinners and at the end of the week, whoever gets the most points is picked. The difference here would be because obviously we can't visit each others homes to eat, we would have to present our "Dinner Parties" on our blogs, and then the general public could vote on which one they like the best. The idea would be for you to post your own on your pages (all on the same day) and then I would set them all up in a post on here, obviously pointing the public to your page to have a look and then back here to vote. (This means that you would all have to send me your links and a photo ahead of the post date) On the television show, the winner gets a grand prize of £1000. I can't promise anyone anything like that obviously, but I do think it would be fun, and you never know, I might be able to drum up a prize somehow! If you could let me know if you'd be interested I am happy to give it a go!