carrot and coconut bars

 

sorry for the quiet blog, i’ve been in bed ill and not cooking, eating or doing very much at all as a result. however, despite feeling dreadful, these little lovelies caught my attention. or to be more precise, the smell of them cooking did – david knocked up a batch for his colleagues at work and the smell of buttery, cinnamony coconut made my mouth water whilst i lay in bed feeling sorry for myself!

i managed to snaffle one and they instantly went onto my list of new favourite things. there is so much to like about them - the crust is slightly chewy, the cinnamon, coconut and walnut combination works really well (i forget how much i like walnuts in a cake), and there is enough dried fruit and carrot that you can pretend it is a healthy snack.

discovering these is perfect timing as i’m getting a little bored of the multiseed peanut butter flapjacks that i make most weeks as a lunch-box treat. i also fancy tinkering with the recipe – the types of fruit and nuts are obviously easy to swap but i think grated pear or apple might also be worth a try. plus a bit of orange zest. and i really should find out more about using something like apple puree to reduce the fat and sugar content – who knows, maybe i will be able to justify these as a weekly treat!

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thai prawn noodle salad

the warm weather is making me want warm weather food which means light fresh flavours. asian flavours are high on my list and this salad was a winner, largely due to the thai dressing that i made. it was based on a rowley leigh recipe – he serves it with lobster (which i'd love to do) but i went down-market with my rice noodles, grated carrots and prawns!

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carrot double-whammy

i like carrots but rarely seem to have creative thoughts about the, most often they just end up being eaten raw, by david, while he’s prowling for snacks when supper is being cooked. 

however, i needed a veggie starter for a recent supper with friends and came across a carrot-tastic feast courtesy of maria elia’s modern vegetarian – carrot pancakes with carrot hummus and feta salad.

i skipped the feta salad as we were having goats’ cheese for our main course (toasted and served on a bed of puy lentils flavoured with caramelised onions, wild mushrooms and spinach) and kept it simple so that the pancakes and hummus could be the focus of the dish.

the result was predictably delicious and i have found a great new way to use carrots. the pancakes are wonderfully flexible as they can be frozen and reheated. the hummus (which is worth making anyway, as an alternative to plain hummus) can also be made in advance, although i haven’t tried freezing it. a good start option for a festive meal? or make mini ones as part of a canape selection.

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carrot and coriander soup

 

i always find it interesting to realise that there are some very basic dishes, which people refer to having on a  regular basis, which i have never tried. carrot and coriander soup was, until recently, one such dish.

i think it’s because i’m not a huge fan of carrots so rarely think of them as the focal point for a dish. however, the gift of a couple of kilos of carrots (from my friend sandra who recently fell foul of the internet shopping gremlins, receiving excessive quantities of both carrots and leeks!) got me looking for carrot recipes and i decided it was time to give this classic a go.

i used a delia smith recipe and was pleasantly surprised. i think i’d assumed it would be all about adding fresh coriander leaves, resulting in quite a fragrant soup. the reality is that it uses coriander seeds as well as the leaves which makes a earthier, gently spiced soup which is perfect for the miserable grey weather we’re having.

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stridently healthy: lentil and savoy cabbage soup

 

the miso soup which i have posted about recently fulfils a very specific need. it’s light, delicious and obviously healthy.

this lentil and savoy cabbage soup is similar except it screams healthiness and worthiness given its star ingredients are cabbage and lentils. this isn’t always a good thing – to make a huge generalisation, boys often need persuading of the virtues of this kind of food!

however, there are definitely days when i need to eat something that is going to make me feel a little bit saintly. whether it’s because i’ve been overindulging, need to be frugal or i just feel that my body needs a dose of healthiness.

the recipe is deceptively simple but tastes fabulous and ticks the saintly box. unless of course you grate over mounds of parmesan and eat it with fresh bread slathered in delicious french bridel butter. but even then it manages to retain an aura of austerity. deluded? moi? surely not…

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