Stuffing Stew.

Yesterday morning the house inadvertantly smelled like Christmas as I decided my one mission for the day was to use up some of the store cupboard stuff to make a soupy stew for the quick meals for the next few weeks whilst J went to the Allotment Society AGM.

So pearl barley from the store cupboard has joined leeks and parsnips from the freezer, and lots of sage and thyme to make a soupy stew that I think will work on it's own or with a veggie sausage or similar as a more substantial meal.

Just be aware that my post-chemo taste-buds seem to only be responding to super-herby flavours at the moment that you might need a bit less flavouring than me if you play with this one but trust me it makes the house smell glorious.

Leek, Parsnip and Barley stew

• c. 1 tablespoon oil
• c. 250g leeks
• c. 250g part-boiled parsnips
• c, 100g pearl barley
• 3 tablespoons dried sage
• 2 tablespoons stock powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• black pepper to taste
• c. 2 litres of boiling water

In large saucepan - makes at least 5 portions

• Put oil parsnips and leeks and lightly fry until the veg softens and takes on a little bit of colour.
• Add herbs, stock and enough water to cover to about 2 cms below the pan rim, bring to the boil.
• Add the barley and simmer for c. 30mins. The barley will absorb the water so you need to keep a bit of an eye on it to make sure it doesn't catch. Top the pan back up with boiling stock to same level as previous and simmer until barley soft.
• The final result is a thick brothy type soup that looks a bit beige but tastes great. I might add some peas or something else with a bit of colour to it when I warm up the portions.

All ready for freezing

And the wet weekend continued...

Judging by the blogs I've peeked at this morning a lot of us have let the weather inspire us to play in the kitchen this week! The weekend pretty much followed Friday's pattern as it was pretty darn wet underfoot and grey throughout Saturday. This meant I ended up doing some more "let's use stuff up" cooking - this time with some of the veg in the freezer - Cauliflower & Pine-nut Macaroni Bake - before putting my feet up with my book and some music and a couple of episodes of Made in Bolton on the I-player whilst making some more cracker innards and J popped into town to run some errands. 

Sunday also ended up being a kitchen morning as I played with making some spicy apple muffins using the food processor. They worked out well so that's one more thing I can manage on good days. Lunch was easy as we had leftovers from Saturday's bake with some veggie sausages and of course, the muffins had to be taste tested too! The rest of Sunday has passed quietly watching TV and reading again. The sun did eventually break through mid-afternoon but by that time I was back in low power mode so no more chores for me.

So, for today's post another recipe and this one is even a vegan one - although you can grate a bit of cheese on top if you really want!

Cauliflower and pine-nut macaroni bake

Makes between 4 and 6 portions in a 2 pint casserole



Put
About 250-300g cauliflower
4-6 mushrooms chopped
1 cup of wholemeal macaroni or other small pasta - cooked until just tender.
Approx. 500ml tomato sauce - made with passata or tin tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 2 dessertspoons mixed herbs, 1 dessertspoon sage and ground garlic and pepper to taste
100g bag of pine nuts - toasted dry in a fry pan.

Into a 2 pint casserole dish 
Stir all the veg, cooked pasta and pine-nuts together in the dish.
Pour the tomato sauce over the top making sure it gets all around all the veg
and pasta

Bake Gas 5 for about 30-40 minutes until piping hot and bubbling well.

Enjoy!